Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) belongs to the POU-homeodomain family of transcription factors and binds to an octamer motif, ATGCAAAT. OCT4 is the key transcription factor that is involved in the maintenance of pluripotency and self-renewal in undifferentiated embryonic stem (ES) cells. OCT4 has been reported to be overexpressed in various cancers including lung, germ cell tumors, breast, cervix, prostate, gastric, liver, and ovarian cancer. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs, modulate mRNA expression through base pairing between seed sequences in miRNA and complementary sequences of the target mRNA, thereby destabilizing mRNA and/or inhibiting protein synthesis. Several miRNAs have been demonstrated to regulate stemness factors such as OCT4, NANOG, SOX2 and KLF4 in cancer cells, thereby modulating the proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, drug resistance and immunity of cancer cells.
OCT4基因是POU转录因子家族中的一员，它能与含八聚体基序（ATGCAAAT）的DNA结合。OCT4是一个关键的转录因子，在未分化胚胎干细胞中参与维持多能性和自我更新性，在许多种癌症包括肺癌、生殖细胞肿瘤、乳腺癌、宫颈癌、前列腺癌、胃癌、肝癌和卵巢癌中过表达。MicroRNAs（miRNAs）是一种小的非编码RNA，通过和靶基因mRNA碱基配对来调控mRNA表达，降解mRNA或阻碍蛋白合成。一些miRNAs被证实在癌细胞中调控干细胞因子如OCT4、NANOG、SOX2和KLF4，进而调控癌细胞的增殖、凋亡、分化、抗药性和免疫性。