title: Gene expression profiling of differentiating embryonic stem cells expressing dominant negative fibroblast growth factor receptor 2.
abstract: Embryonic stem (ES) cells are derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst and can be cultured as three-dimensional embryoid bodies (EBs) in which embryonic pregastrulation stages are faithfully mimicked. Fibroblast growth factor receptors (mainly FGFR2) are involved in the first differentiation events during early mammalian embryogenesis. It has been demonstrated that the presence of FGFR2 is a prerequisite for laminin-111 and collagen type IV synthesis and subsequently basement membrane formation in EBs. To identify genes that are influenced by FGFR signalling, we performed global gene expression profiling of differentiating EBs expressing dominant negative FGFR2 (dnFGFR2), acquiring an extensive catalogue of down- and up-regulated genes. We show a strong down-regulation of endodermal and basement membrane related genes, which strengthen the view that the FGFR signalling pathway is a main stimulator of basement membrane synthesis in EBs. We further present down-regulation of genes previously not linked to FGFR signalling, and in addition an active transcription of some mesodermal related genes in differentiating dnFGFR2 EBs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medical Science, Division for Cell and Matrix Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Renata.Meszaros@med.lu.se
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meszaros
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akerlund
authors.forename: Tord
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hjalt
authors.forename: Madeleine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Durbeej
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ekblom
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051379:Mice; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D051497:Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C496354:Fgfr2 protein, mouse; D051497:Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 2