Structure, expression and chromosomal location of the Oct-4 gene

The map position of Oct-4 on mouse chromosome 17 is between Q and T regions in the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), and it is physically located within 35 kb of a class I gene. Several Oct-4-related genes are present in the murine genome; one of them maps to chromosome 9. The genomic structure and sequence of Oct-4 determined in t-haplotypes reveals five exons, and shows no significant changes in the t12 mutant haplotype making it unlikely that Oct-4 and the t12 early embryonic lethal are the same gene. By in situ hybridization, detectable onset of zygotic Oct-4 expression does not occur until compaction begins at 8-cells, suggesting that there might be other regulatory factors responsible for initiating Oct-4 expression.