OCT3/4 regulates transcription of histone deacetylase 4 (Hdac4) in mouse embryonic stem cells

OCT3/4 is a POU domain transcription factor that is critical for maintenance of pluripotency and self-renewal by embryonic stem (ES) cells and cells of the early mammalian embryo. It has been demonstrated to bind and regulate a number of genes, often in conjunction with the transcription factors SOX2 and NANOG. In an effort to further understand this regulatory network, chromatin immunoprecipitation was used to prepare a library of DNA segments specifically bound by OCT3/4 in undifferentiated mouse ES (mES) cell chromatin. One segment corresponds to a region within the first intron of the gene encoding histone deacetylase 4 (Hdac4), a Class II histone deacetylase. This region acts as a transcriptional repressor and contains at least two functional sites that are specifically bound by OCT3/4. HDAC4 is not expressed in the nuclei of OCT3/4+ mES cells and is upregulated upon differentiation. These findings demonstrate the participation of OCT3/4 in the repression of Hdac4 in ES cells.