Quantitative PCR analysis was performed to compare transcript levels of Venus with PrEn (Hex, Gata4, Gata6, Dab2, Sox7, Hnf4α, and Pdgfrα),
pluripotency (Nanog, Klf4, Rex1, Stella, and Pou5f1) and
other lineage (T, Fgf5, Eomes, Flk1, Mixl1, Cdx2, Sox1, Pax6, and Six3)
markers in purified cell fractions.
Oct - 4 is most consistently expressed of the
pluripotency genes that we have studied, and it is switched off only in populations that have lost
other measurable features of
pluripotency, such as stem cell surface
marker expression and the capacity for self - renewal.