Transcriptome analysis of mouse stem cells and early embryos.
Understanding and harnessing cellular potency are fundamental in biology and are also critical to the future therapeutic use of stem cells. Transcriptome analysis of these pluripotent cells is a first step towards such goals. Starting with sources that include oocytes, blastocysts, and embryonic and adult stem cells, we obtained 249,200 high-quality EST sequences and clustered them with public sequences to produce an index of approximately 30,000 total mouse genes that includes 977 previously unidentified genes. Analysis of gene expression levels by EST frequency identifies genes that characterize preimplantation embryos, embryonic stem cells, and adult stem cells, thus providing potential markers as well as clues to the functional features of these cells. Principal component analysis identified a set of 88 genes whose average expression levels decrease from oocytes to blastocysts, stem cells, postimplantation embryos, and finally to newborn tissues. This can be a first step towards a possible definition of a molecular scale of cellular potency. The sequences and cDNA clones recovered in this work provide a comprehensive resource for genes functioning in early mouse embryos and stem cells. The nonrestricted community access to the resource can accelerate a wide range of research, particularly in reproductive and regenerative medicine.
Sharov
Alexei A
AA
National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Piao
Yulan
Y
Matoba
Ryo
R
Dudekula
Dawood B
DB
Qian
Yong
Y
VanBuren
Vincent
V
Falco
Geppino
G
Martin
Patrick R
PR
Stagg
Carole A
CA
Bassey
Uwem C
UC
Wang
Yuxia
Y
Carter
Mark G
MG
Hamatani
Toshio
T
Aiba
Kazuhiro
K
Akutsu
Hidenori
H
Sharova
Lioudmila
L
Tanaka
Tetsuya S
TS
Kimber
Wendy L
WL
Yoshikawa
Toshiyuki
T
Jaradat
Saied A
SA
Pantano
Serafino
S
Nagaraja
Ramaiah
R
Boheler
Kenneth R
KR
Taub
Dennis
D
Hodes
Richard J
RJ
Longo
Dan L
DL
Schlessinger
David
D
Keller
Jonathan
J
Klotz
Emily
E
Kelsoe
Garnett
G
Umezawa
Akihiro
A
Vescovi
Angelo L
AL
Rossant
Janet
J
Kunath
Tilo
T
Hogan
Brigid L M
BL
Curci
Anna
A
D'Urso
Michele
M
Kelso
Janet
J
Hide
Winston
W
Ko
Minoru S H
MS
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D019295:Computational Biology; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000378:metabolism*; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015723:Gene Library; D051379:Mice; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger