OAC2 is an Oct4 activator which activates expression through the Oct4 gene promoter; enhances reprogramming efficiency by increasing the rate of production of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from embryonic fibroblasts; an analog of OAC1.

Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4) 是细胞多能性诱导和维持的主要调控因子，在早期分化阶段起着至关重要的作用。它是同一蛋白家族中唯一一个不能被其他成员替代以诱导多能性的因子[1]。研究表明，Oct4 是胚胎干细胞 (ESC) 多能性的必要调控因子，对重编程过程至关重要。OAC2 是 OAC1 的结构类似物，能够激活 Oct4 和 Nanog 报告基因，效果与 OAC1 相似。OAC1 及其两个结构类似物 OAC2 和 OAC3，与四个重编程因子 Oct4、Sox2、Klf4 和 c-Myc 结合使用时，可以将重编程效率提高四倍，最高达到 2.75%，并且能够加快诱导多能干细胞 (iPSC) 集落出现的时间，缩短至 3 到 4 天[2]。

The Oct4-luc or Nanog-luc cells are treated with compound OAC1 or its structural analogs OAC2, OAC3 at 1 μM concentration or at indicated concentrations. Other compounds used include 2 μM BIO, 2 μM BIX, 2 μM 5'-azacytidine, 25 μg/mL Vitamin C, 10 nM Am580, 5 μM tranylcypromine, and 0.5 mM valporic acid. Luciferase reporter assays are performed 24 h after compound treatment or at indicated time points. For Topflash reporter assays, 0.2 μg β-catenin–responsive Topflash reporter gene plasmid is introduced into CV1 cells using trasfection. Compounds are added 6 h after transfection. Luciferase activity is measured 48 h after compound treatment using the Glo Luciferase Assay System[2].