TY - JOUR
T1 - Aberrant expression and distribution of the OCT-4 transcription factor in seminomas
AU - Cheng, Chien Jui
AU - Wu, Yu Chih
AU - Shu, Jye An
AU - Ling, Thai Yen
AU - Kuo, Hung Chih
AU - Wu, Jui Yu
AU - Chang, E-E
AU - Chang, Shyh Chern
AU - Huang, Yen Hua
PY - 2007/11
Y1 - 2007/11
N2 - Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), comprised of seminomas and non-seminomas, are derived from premalignant and noninvasive intracellular germ cell neoplasias. Among TGCTs, seminomas are believed to resemble a transformed state of primordial germ cells (PGCs) and are known to exhibit a gene expression profile similar to that of embryonic stem (ES) cells, such as transcription factor OCT-4. OCT-4 has recently been recognized as a diagnostic marker for clinical aspects of seminomas. However, the role of the OCT-4 protein in seminomas has not been clarified. To determine a possible role of the OCT-4 protein in seminomas, in this paper, we studied a series of 41 testicular tumor tissues and four cell lines by immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to examine the expression and distribution of the OCT-4 transcription factor in seminomas. By utilizing immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting, we demonstrated that the OCT-4 transcription factor was aberrantly localized in the cytoplasm and nuclei of cells in the collected seminoma tissues. This observation was further confirmed using immunocytochemical staining of NCCIT (seminoma-embryonal carcinoma) and NT2 (embryonal carcinoma) cells. In addition, the RT-PCR results indicated that Oct-4 mRNA was relatively highly expressed in NCCIT, NT2 cells, and seminoma tissues when compared with human embryonic stem cells. The aberrant expression and distribution of the OCT-4 transcription factor in seminomas may provide some important clues concerning the cell transformation between germ line stem cells (like PGC) and testicular germ cell tumors.
AB - Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), comprised of seminomas and non-seminomas, are derived from premalignant and noninvasive intracellular germ cell neoplasias. Among TGCTs, seminomas are believed to resemble a transformed state of primordial germ cells (PGCs) and are known to exhibit a gene expression profile similar to that of embryonic stem (ES) cells, such as transcription factor OCT-4. OCT-4 has recently been recognized as a diagnostic marker for clinical aspects of seminomas. However, the role of the OCT-4 protein in seminomas has not been clarified. To determine a possible role of the OCT-4 protein in seminomas, in this paper, we studied a series of 41 testicular tumor tissues and four cell lines by immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to examine the expression and distribution of the OCT-4 transcription factor in seminomas. By utilizing immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting, we demonstrated that the OCT-4 transcription factor was aberrantly localized in the cytoplasm and nuclei of cells in the collected seminoma tissues. This observation was further confirmed using immunocytochemical staining of NCCIT (seminoma-embryonal carcinoma) and NT2 (embryonal carcinoma) cells. In addition, the RT-PCR results indicated that Oct-4 mRNA was relatively highly expressed in NCCIT, NT2 cells, and seminoma tissues when compared with human embryonic stem cells. The aberrant expression and distribution of the OCT-4 transcription factor in seminomas may provide some important clues concerning the cell transformation between germ line stem cells (like PGC) and testicular germ cell tumors.
KW - Cytosolic distribution
KW - OCT-4 transcription factor
KW - Seminoma
KW - Testicular germ cell tumors
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U2 - 10.1007/s11373-007-9198-7
DO - 10.1007/s11373-007-9198-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 17682839
AN - SCOPUS:35348882023
VL - 14
SP - 797
EP - 807
JO - Journal of Biomedical Science
JF - Journal of Biomedical Science
SN - 1021-7770
IS - 6
ER -