Disease relevance of POU3F1

• Because of its endogenous expression in myelinating glia, Tst-1/Oct-6 might also be an important determinant for the glia specificity of JC virus in vivo [1].
• Oct6, a transcription factor controlling myelination, is a marker for active nerve regeneration in peripheral neuropathies [2].
• We immunohistochemically studied Oct6 expression in peripheral nerve specimens from 25 patients with various diseases including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A) [2].
• Schwann cells forming "onion bulbs" expressed Oct6 in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), but showed minimal expression in CMT1A, reflecting their proliferative activity in CIDP [2].
• SCIP with diseases associated with aging, such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus, are on the increase in Japan. The SOMR for hypertension was 250 (p < 0.01), and for diabetes mellitus it was 323 (p < 0.01) [3].

High impact information on POU3F1

• The primary structure of SCIP, a POU protein expressed by developing Schwann cells of the peripheral nervous system, was deduced and SCIP activity was studied [4].
• Both in normal development and in response to nerve transection, SCIP expression was transiently activated only during the period of rapid cell division that separates the premyelinating and myelinating phases of Schwann cell differentiation [4].
• When fused to a heterologous DNA-binding domain, this SCIP domain is a potent transactivator in Schwann cells but is inactive in three heterologous cell types [5].
• The primary structure of the SCIP amino-terminal domain is novel but contains a polymorphic string of alanine residues similar to those found in several other transcription factors [5].
• This differential behavior was due to differences in the amino-terminal regions of the proteins, as evident from chimeras between Tst-1/Oct6/SCIP and Brn-1 [6].

Biological context of POU3F1

• Human class III POU genes, POU3F1 and POU3F3, map to chromosomes 1p34.1 and 3p14.2 [7].
• The POU domain protein Tst-1/Oct-6 is a transcriptional activator of human papovavirus JC virus in transient transfections [1].
• Taken together, our studies suggest that Oct-6 may play an important role in controlling gene expression in stratified squamous epithelia, including epidermis [8].
• Activation of viral early and late genes depends on the ability of Tst-1/Oct-6 to interact with an AT-rich element within the viral regulatory region [1].
• These results point to an accessory role for HMG-I/Y in the activation of JC viral gene expression by the POU domain protein Tst-1/Oct-6 [1].

Anatomical context of POU3F1

• Oct-6: a regulator of keratinocyte gene expression in stratified squamous epithelia [8].
• By in situ hybridization, Oct-6 mRNA was detected not only in epidermis but also a variety of other stratified squamous epithelia and with greater signals than testis, the tissue in which this POU protein was originally discovered [8].
• In tst-1/scip/oct-6-null sciatic nerves, Schwann cells are transiently arrested at the "promyelinating" stage, when they have a one-to-one relationship with an axon but before they have elaborated a myelin sheath [9].
• Oct6 was present in cytoplasm of Schwann cells associated with normal-appearing myelinated nerve fibers, but not in nuclei [2].
• Examination of ova with three pronuclei and 1-cell through blastocyst stage embryos revealed that OCT4 mRNA was continuously expressed between the time of fertilization and 10+ cell stages, whereas OCT6 mRNA expression was not observed until the 10+ cell stage [10].

Associations of POU3F1 with chemical compounds

• We further showed mRNA expression of ATB0+ (an amino acid transporter with a Na+/Cl(-)-dependent carnitine transport activity), and Fly-like putative transporter 2/OCT6 (a splice variant of carnitine transporter 2: a testis-specific Na+-dependent carnitine transporter) [11].
• OTE reduced the rate of acid production by mutans streptococci accompanied with the retardation of growth rate of mutans streptococci, while the action by chromatographically isolated oolong tea polyphenol (OTF6) was weak [12].

Other interactions of POU3F1

• The difference in the time of expression of OCT4 mRNA and OCT6 mRNA indicates that the two genes play differential roles in human embryogenesis [10].
• Functional interaction between the POU domain protein Tst-1/Oct-6 and the high-mobility-group protein HMG-I/Y [1].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of POU3F1

• By RNase protection assays, by PCR, and by immunoblot analysis, Oct-6 was expressed in cultured epidermal keratinocytes [8].
• Utilizing a sensitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay system, the time course of mRNA expression of two transcription regulators, OCT4 and OCT6, was assessed in individual preimplantation human embryos [10].

References