Stabilization of OCT4 synthetic mRNA in adult human skin cells using small molecules

The OCT4 transcription factor is involved in many cellular processes, including development, reprogramming, maintaining pluripotency and differentiation. Synthetic OCT4 mRNA was recently used (in conjunction with other reprogramming factors) to generate human induced pluripotent stem cells. Here, we discovered that BAY 11-7082 (BAY11) could significantly increase the expression of OCT4 following transfection of synthetic mRNA (synRNA) into adult human skin cells. Importantly, the increased levels of OCT4 resulted in significantly increased expression of genes downstream of OCT4, including the previously identified SPP1, DUSP4 and GADD45G. We also identified a novel OCT4 downstream target gene SLC16A9 which demonstrated significantly increased expression following elevation of OCT4 levels. This small molecule-based stabilization of synthetic mRNA expression may have multiple applications for future cell-based research and therapeutics. 4 samples (untreated H9 hESCs, untreated HUF1 skin fibroblasts, HUF1 cells treated with OCT4 synthetic mRNA, HUF1 cells treated with OCT4 synthetic mRNA and BAY11) were analyzed with 2 biological replicates per sample.