Native OCT4 protein has the intrinsic ability of crossing cellular membranes to enter cells. This finding could revive efforts to induce pluripotency with proteins replacing nucleic acid-based approaches, and raises the intriguing question as to whether OCT4 can act non-cell-autonomously.
Keywords: Cell penetrating peptide; Induced pluripotent stem cells; OCT4; Pluripotency; Reprogramming.