title: Genetic and functional differences between multipotent neural and pluripotent embryonic stem cells.
abstract: Stem cells (SCs) are functionally defined by their abilities to self-renew and generate differentiated cells. Although much effort has been focused on defining the common characteristics among various types of SCs, the genetic and functional differences between multipotent and pluripotent SCs have garnered less attention. We report a direct genetic and functional comparison of molecularly defined and clonally related populations of neural SCs (NSCs) and embryonic SCs (ESCs), using the Sox2 promoter for isolation of purified populations by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. A stringent expression profile comparison of promoter-defined NSCs and ESCs revealed a striking dissimilarity, and subsequent chimera analyses confirmed the fundamental differences in cellular potency between these populations. This direct comparison elucidates the molecular basis for the functional differences in pluripotent ESCs and multipotent NSCs.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: D'Amour
authors.forename: Fred H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Gage
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D024002:HMGB Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D039902:Multipotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D024002:HMGB Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors; C527783:Sox2 protein, mouse; D014157:Transcription Factors; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins