NANOG
Description
The NANOG (Nanog homeobox) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 12.
NANOG refers to a human gene that encodes a protein essential for maintaining the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells.
NANOG is a key regulator of embryonic stem cell (ES) proliferation and self-renewal, maintaining their pluripotent state. It prevents ES cells from differentiating into extraembryonic endoderm and trophectoderm lineages, and also blocks mesoderm differentiation triggered by bone morphogenetic protein. NANOG achieves this by interacting with SMAD1 and blocking the recruitment of coactivators to SMAD transcriptional complexes. NANOG acts as a transcriptional activator or repressor, binding to specific DNA sequences like 5'-TAAT[GT][GT]-3' or 5'-[CG][GA][CG]C[GC]ATTAN[GC]-3'. It binds to the POU5F1/OCT4 promoter, and also autoregulates its expression by interacting with ZNF281/ZFP281, leading to the recruitment of the NuRD complex and subsequent repression of expression. Overexpression of NANOG promotes cell cycle progression and proliferation.
NANOG is also known as -.
