title: Molecular signature of human embryonic stem cells and its comparison with the mouse.
abstract: The molecular mechanism underlying pluripotency is largely unknown. Here, we provide the first global transcriptional profile of the state of "stemness" in human embryonic stem cells (HESCs). We have identified a set of 918 genes enriched in undifferentiated HESCs compared with their differentiated counterparts. These include ligand/receptor pairs and secreted inhibitors of the FGF, TGFbeta/BMP, and Wnt pathways, highlighting a prevalent role for these pathways in HESCs. Importantly, a significant number of HESCs-enriched genes, including several signaling components, are found to be intersected with published mouse embryonic stem cell data, indicating that a "core molecular program" is shared between the two pluripotent stem cells.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Vertebrate Molecular Embryology, The Rockefeller University, 1230, York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Ignacio Munoz
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Sanjuan
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heke
authors.forename: Makiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Naef
authors.forename: Ali H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Brivanlou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors