OCT4

By Jamshed Arslan, Pharm D, PhD

By Jennifer Sokolowski, MD, PhD.

Discovery of the Key to Pluripotency

By Jamshed Arslan Pharm.D.

Nanog, a homeodomain (HD) transcription factor, plays a critical role in the maintenance of embryonic stem (ES) cell self-renewal. Transcription regulator involved in inner cell mass and ES cell proliferation and self-renewal.

Epigenetic alterations have come to prominence in biomedical research. In particular, hypermethylation of CpG islands located in the promoter regions of tumor-suppressor genes is now firmly established as an important mechanism for gene inactivation in cancer.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. ES cells are distinguished from other cells due to their pluripotency, which is the ability to differentiate into any different type of cell in the body, and also their capability of propagating indefinitely. These two factors make embryonic stem cells valuable tools in the scientific community, especially in regenerative medicine.

SOX2 encodes a member of the SOX (SRY-related HMG-box) family of transcription factors, which play a vital role in embryonic development. SOX2 antibody research has identified Sox2 as a key transcription factor in pluripotent stem cells. We at Novus Biologicals offer a number of top quality SOX2 products in our stem cell antibody catalog.

The Sox2 antibody is widely used in sensory, neuroscience and stem cell marker research. Recently, Sox2 antibody preparations identified the Sox2 protein as a marker for malignant neural gliomas. We at Novus Biologicals offer a wide variety of highly validated Sox2 antibodies.

We at Novus Biologicals recently extended our antibody catalog to include several embryonic stem cells (ESC) antibodies validated for use in FACS (fluorescent activated cell sorting) assays. Among them was Oct4, which recently became the focus of an interesting study into the human aging process.