Oct-4 is highly expressed in stem/progenitor cells and in primordial follicles of the fetal human ovary
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Keywords

Oct-4
fetal ovary
development
immunohistochemistry
primordial follicles
ovarian stem cells

How to Cite

Cau, F., Fanni, D., Gerosa, C., Botta, M. C., Bardanzellu, F., Aversa, S., Sorrentino, E., Ronchi, F., Bellan, C., Faa, G., & Castagnola, M. (2021). Oct-4 is highly expressed in stem/progenitor cells and in primordial follicles of the fetal human ovary. Journal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine (JPNIM), 10(1), e100118. https://doi.org/10.7363/100118

Abstract

Oct-4 (Octamer-binding transcription factor 4) is a member of the POU (Pit-Oct-Unc) family. During development, Oct-4 is expressed in embryonic stem cells and in germ cell precursors. In this study, we investigated the expression of Oct-4 in the ovaries of human fetuses during gestation. The ovaries of 14 human fetuses and newborns, ranging in gestational age from 12 up to 38 weeks of gestation, were formalin-fixed, routinely processed and paraffin-embedded. Paraffin sections were immunostained with an anti-Oct-4 commercial antibody. Oct-4 expression was demonstrated in all the ovaries analyzed. Immunoreactivity for Oct-4 was detected in multiple stem/progenitor cells, including oogonia. Moreover, Oct-4 was expressed in oocytes, in primordial follicles. In ovarian stem/progenitor cells, Oct-4 was expressed in the nucleus, whereas in oocytes reactivity for Oct-4 was restricted to the cytoplasm. In the initial stages of gestation, the majority of Oct-4-positive precursor cells were detected in the external cortex. These preliminary data indicate Oct-4 as a major player in germ cell differentiation in the human ovary and as a useful marker for ovarian stem/progenitor cells. Given the ability of Oct-4 for the detection of ovarian stem/progenitor cells, further studies are needed in order to verify its ability to detect stem cells in adult ovaries.

https://doi.org/10.7363/100118
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