Figure 2.

Obox1 Can Replace Sox2 during Somatic Cell Reprogramming

(A) The number of Oct4-GFP⁺ colonies was counted at the end of induction.

(B) Morphology of primary colonies. Scale bars, 400 μm.

(C) Morphology of OKM + Obox1-iPSC lines. Scale bars, 400 μm.

(D) qRT-PCR analysis shows pluripotency gene expression in OKM + Obox1-iPSCs. Relative mRNA expression was normalized to hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (Hprt) mRNA and represented relative to expression in MEFs.

(E) Immunostaining of pluripotent markers OCT4 (red), SSEA1 (red), and NANOG (red) in OKM + Obox1-iPSC lines. Nuclear staining by DAPI (blue). Scale bars, 50 μm.

(F) H&E staining of teratoma generated from OKM + Obox1-iPSCs showing representative ectodermal (epidermis), mesodermal (cartilage), and endodermal (cuboidal epithelium) tissues. Scale bars, 100 μm.

(G) Representative photos of the contribution and spatial distribution of Oct4-GFP⁺ cells in the gonads from E12.5 OKM + Obox1-iPSC-derived chimera embryo. Scale bars, 1 mm.

Data are presented as the mean ± SEM (n = 3); ^∗∗p < 0.01 by Student's t test. See also Figure S2.