Topic summary
Oct4
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Oct-4.
Role in reprogramming
However, it was shown in 2019 that Oct4 could be completely omitted from the Yamanaka cocktail, and the remaining three factors, Sox2, Klf4, and cMyc (SKM) could generate mouse iPSCs with dramatically enhanced developmental potential. (The endogenous Oct4 gene is activated by this cocktail.) This suggests that Oct4 increases the efficiency of reprogramming, but decreases the quality of resulting iPSCs. This is due to Oct4 transiently promoting some incorrect gene expression programs.