title: [Effect of nicotine on Oct-4 transcription of embryonic stem cells].
abstract: To clarify whether nicotine affected the early embryo development, the paper investigated the influence of nicotine on embryonic stem (ES) cells specific gene Oct-4.
  
  
  METHODS
  ES cells were treated with nicotine (1-1000 nM) and/or 10 microM tubocurarine (a usual nicotinic acetylcholine receptors [nAChRs] blocker) for 24 h. Subsequently, they were purified to discard feeder cells and total RNA was isolated. Fgf-5 was amplified to detect the purification of ES cells, and the relative expression of Oct-4 and beta-actin to GAPDH was analyzed with RT-PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  RT-PCR analysis illustrated that nicotine (10-1000 nM) significantly enhanced Oct-4 transcription, while had no effect on beta-actin transcription; meanwhile, compared with nicotine (100 nM and 1000 nM) treatment alone, tubocurarine inhibited Oct-4 transcription evidently.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is reasonable to assume that nicotine could influence the development and differentiation of ES cells, and impinge on the early embryo development.
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitology, Preclinical and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
authors.forename: Huaping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dongxing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Yangxing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Lianyun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhongdong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qia
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D009538:Nicotine / Q000633:toxicity*; D018733:Nicotinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D014403:Tubocurarine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D018733:Nicotinic Antagonists; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; D009538:Nicotine; D014403:Tubocurarine