# POU5F1

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/pou5f1/  
OnCo record `pou5f1` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

POU5F1 (POU domain, class 5, transcription factor 1) is a protein that switches other genes on and off. The public catalogues list it as a drug target and a biomarker, and clinical evidence ties its variants to diagnosis, prognosis or drug response. Tied to Colorectal cancer and Lung cancer.

## Summary

Transcription factor that binds to the octamer motif (5'-ATTTGCAT-3'). Forms a trimeric complex with SOX2 or SOX15 on DNA and controls the expression of a number of genes involved in embryonic development such as YES1, FGF4, UTF1 and ZFP206. Critical for early embryogenesis and for embryonic stem cell pluripotency.

CIViC holds 1 clinical evidence item and 0 assertions across 1 variant, naming Oxaliplatin. Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.63 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 1.00, affected pathway 0.36, genetic association 0.00, somatic mutation 0.93).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: POU class 5 homeobox 1; POU domain, class 5, transcription factor 1; OCT3; Oct4; MGC22487; OCT-4; Oct3/4; OTF3
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: POU5F1
- Class: transcription
- Biology: Transcription factor that binds to the octamer motif (5'-ATTTGCAT-3'). Forms a trimeric complex with SOX2 or SOX15 on DNA and controls the expression of a number of genes involved in embryonic development such as YES1, FGF4, UTF1 and ZFP206. Critical for early embryogenesis and for embryonic stem cell pluripotency. Location: Cytoplasm; Nucleus (UniProt). Locus 6p21.33 (HGNC).
- Where found: Colorectal cancer: CIViC evidence names this disease; Lung cancer: Open Targets association 0.53 with lung cancer (MONDO_0008903)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: CIViC lists 1 therapies; CIViC holds 1 clinical evidence items on its variants. Evidence tier "clinical-evidence" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:9221: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:9221
- UniProt Q01860: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q01860/entry
- NCBI Gene 5460: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/5460
- Ensembl ENSG00000204531: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000204531

## Connected records

- collections: [CIViC](https://onco.cc/collections/civic/), [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)
- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [Lung cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-cancer/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/pou5f1.json