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Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Profiling Individual Human Embryonic Stem Cells by Quantitative RT-PCR
Published on: May 29, 2014
The expression of the embryonic gene Cripto-1 is regulated by OCT4 in human embryonal carcinoma NCCIT cells
Sung-Won Park1, Hyun-Jin Do1, Mi-Hee Han1
1Department of Biomedical Science, College of Life Science, CHA University, Seongnam-Si, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea.
Abstract:
Cripto-1 and OCT4, expressed in stem cells and cancers, play important roles in tumorigenesis. Here, we demonstrate that Cripto-1 expression is regulated by OCT4 in human embryonic carcinoma NCCIT cells. The endogenous expression of Cripto-1 and OCT4 is significantly reduced during differentiation. Cripto-1 expression is increased by OCT4 overexpression, but decreased by shRNA-mediated OCT4 knockdown. OCT4 overexpression significantly activates Cripto-1 transcriptional activity. A 5'-upstream minimal promoter sequence in the gene-encoding Cripto-1 is significantly activated by OCT4 overexpression. Mutation of the putative OCT4-binding site abolishes OCT4-mediated activation of the Cripto-1 promoter. The OCT4 transactivation domains mediate transcriptional activity of the Cripto-1 minimal promoter through direct interaction. Taken together, OCT4 plays an important role as a transcriptional activator of Cripto-1 expression in NCCIT cells.
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