Upregulation of Nanog and Sox-2 genes following ectopic expression of Oct-4 in amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells.
Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct-4), an important gene regulating stem cell pluripotency, is well-known for its ability to reprogram somatic cells in vitro, either alone or in concert with other factors. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of ectopic expression of Oct human amniotic fluid stem cells. We developed a novel method for isolation of putative human amniotic fluid-derived multipotent stem cells. These cells showing mesenchymal stem cell phenotypes (human amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells, hAFMSCs) were transfected with a plasmid carrying genes for Oct-4 and the green fluorescent protein (GFP). The stably transfected cells, hAFMSCs-Oct4/GFP, were selected by using G418 and found to express the GFP reporter gene under the control of Oct-4 promoter. We found that hAFMSCs developed by our method possess very high self-renewal ability (about 78 cumulative population doublings) and multilineage differentiation potency. Significantly, the hAFMSCs-Oct4/GFP cells showed enhanced expression of the three major pluripotency genes Oct-4, Nanog, and Sox-2, and increased colony-forming ability and growth rate compared with the parental hAFMSCs. We demonstrated that the ectopic expression of Oct-4 gene in hAFMSCs with high self-renewal ability could upregulate Nanog and Sox-2 gene expression and enhance cell growth rate and colony-forming efficiency. Therefore, the ectopic expression of Oct-4 could be a strategy to develop pluripotency in hAFMSCs for clinical applications.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kuo General Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.|Center for Reproductive Medicine, Kuo General Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.|Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kuo General Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
Kai-Hung
KH
Wang
Department of Research and Development, NeoAsia, Taipei, Taiwan.
An-Pei
AP
Kao
Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Chia-Cheng
CC
Chang
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kuo General Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.|Center for Reproductive Medicine, Kuo General Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
Ta-Chin
TC
Lin
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kuo General Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.|Center for Reproductive Medicine, Kuo General Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
Tsung-Cheng
TC
Kuo
D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000166:cytology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D000066630:Ectopic Gene Expression; D005260:Female; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000235:genetics*; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000235:genetics*
D015415:Biomarkers; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C486780:NANOG protein, human; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors
Oct-4; human amniotic fluid cells; mesenchymal stem cells; pluripotency