The use of biomarkers in diagnosis, therapy and prognosis has gained increasing interest
over the last decades. In particular, the analysis of biomarkers in cancer patients within the …

Since the introduction of the cancer stem cell (CSC) paradigm, significant advances have
been made in understanding the functional and biological plasticity of these elusive …

Oct4 is a mammalian POU transcription factor expressed by early embryo cells and germ
cells. We report that the activity of Oct4 is essential for the identity of the pluripotential …

Cell fate during development is defined by transcription factors that act as molecular
switches to activate or repress specific gene expression programmes. The POU transcription …

In mammalian development, epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation patterns,
play a crucial role in defining cell fate but also represent epigenetic barriers that restrict …

Human and mouse embryonic stem cells (HESCs and MESCs, respectively) self-renew
indefinitely while maintaining the ability to generate all three germ-layer derivatives. Despite …

Pluripotency of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells is regulated
by a well characterized gene transcription circuitry. The circuitry is assembled by ESC …

Several studies have implicated Wnt signalling in primary axis formation during vertebrate
embryogenesis, yet no Wnt protein has been shown to be essential for this process 1, 2, 3. In …

We have identified microRNAs (miRNAs) in undifferentiated and differentiated mouse
embryonic stem (ES) cells. Some of these appear to be ES cell specific, have related …

Purpose: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), like many solid tumors, contains a
heterogeneous population of cancer cells. Recent data suggest that a rare subpopulation of …