relatives, Oct1 and Oct6, fail to induce pluripotency, thus demonstrating the exclusiveness of Oct4 among POU transcription factors.

However, it was shown in 2019 that Oct4 could be completely omitted from the Yamanaka cocktail, and the remaining three factors, Sox2, Klf4, and cMyc (SKM) could generate mouse iPSCs with dramatically enhanced developmental potential. (The endogenous Oct4 gene is activated by this cocktail.) This suggests that Oct4 increases the efficiency of