Gene expression patterns in human embryonic stem cells and human pluripotent germ cell tumors PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Sperger, J. M., Chen, X., Draper, J. S., Antosiewicz, J. E., Chon, C. H., Jones, S. B., Brooks, J. D., Andrews, P. W., Brown, P. O., Thomson, J. A. 2003; 100 (23): 13350-13355

Abstract

Remarkably little is known about the transcriptional profiles of human embryonic stem (ES) cells or the molecular mechanisms that underlie their pluripotency. To identify commonalties among the transcriptional profiles of different human pluripotent cells and to search for clues into the genesis of human germ cell tumors, we compared the expression profiles of human ES cell lines, human germ cell tumor cell lines and tumor samples, somatic cell lines, and testicular tissue samples by using cDNA microarray analysis. Hierarchical cluster analysis of gene expression profiles showed that the five independent human ES cell lines clustered tightly together, reflecting highly similar expression profiles. The gene expression patterns of human ES cell lines showed many similarities with the human embryonal carcinoma cell samples and more distantly with the seminoma samples. We identified 895 genes that were expressed at significantly greater levels in human ES and embryonal carcinoma cell lines than in control samples. These genes are candidates for involvement in the maintenance of a pluripotent, undifferentiated phenotype.

View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2235735100

View details for Web of Science ID 000186573700044

View details for PubMedID 14595015

View details for PubMedCentralID PMC263817