Int. J. Dev. Biol. 56: 853 - 858 (2012)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.120174mz

Vol 56, Issue 10-11-12

Special Issue: Female Germ Cells in Development & Tumors

OCT4 and the acquisition of oocyte developmental competence during folliculogenesis

Published: 6 February 2013

Maurizio Zuccotti*^,1, Valeria Merico², Martina Belli², Francesca Mulas³, Lucia Sacchi⁴, Blaz Zupan^3,5, Carlo Alberto Redi², Alessandro Prigione⁶, James Adjaye^6,7, Riccardo Bellazzi^3,4 and Silvia Garagna*^,2,3,8

¹Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Biotecnologiche e Traslazionali, Universita' degli Studi di Parma, Italy, ²Laboratorio di Biologia dello Sviluppo, Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie 'Lazzaro Spallanzani', Universita` degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy, ³Centre for Tissue Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, ⁴Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale e dell'Informazione, Universita’ degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy, 5Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia, ⁶Molecular Embryology and Aging Group, Department of Vertebrate Genomics, Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany, ⁷Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heiner University, Düsseldorf, Germany and ⁸Centro di Eccellenza in Biologia Applicata, Universita’ degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.

Abstract

The role that the transcription factor OCT4 plays during oocyte growth is yet unknown. In this review, we summarise the data on its potential role in the acquisition of oocyte developmental competence in the mouse. These studies describe the presence in MII oocytes and 2-cell embryos of an OCT4 transcriptional network that might be part of the molecular signature of maternal origin on which the inner cell mass and the embryonic stem cell-associated pluripotency is assembled and shaped. The Oct4-gene regulatory network thus provides a connection between eggs, early preimplantation embryos and embryonic stem cells.

Keywords

OCT4, oocyte, developmental competence, preimplantation development, pluripotency