title: Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy identifies early lineage commitment in differentiating human embryonic stem cells.
abstract: Human ESCs (hESCs) are a valuable tool for the study of early human development and represent a source of normal differentiated cells for pharmaceutical and biotechnology applications and ultimately for cell replacement therapies. For all applications, it will be necessary to develop assays to validate the efficacy of hESC differentiation. We explored the capacity for FTIR spectroscopy, a technique that rapidly characterises cellular macromolecular composition, to discriminate mesendoderm or ectoderm committed cells from undifferentiated hESCs. Distinct infrared spectroscopic "signatures" readily distinguished hESCs from these early differentiated progeny, with bioinformatic models able to correctly classify over 97% of spectra. These data identify a role for FTIR spectroscopy as a new modality to complement conventional analyses of hESCs and their derivatives. FTIR spectroscopy has the potential to provide low-cost, automatable measurements for the quality control of stem and differentiated cells to be used in industry and regenerative medicine.
authors.affiliation: Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Heraud
authors.forename: Elizabeth S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caine
authors.forename: Qing C
authors.initials: QC
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hirst
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mayberry
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.forename: Bayden R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Don
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McNaughton
authors.forename: Edouard G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Stanley
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Elefanty
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D019295:Computational Biology; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared