Transcriptome analysis of early organogenesis in human embryos.
Genome-wide expression analysis of embryonic development provides information that is useful in a variety of contexts. Here, we report transcriptome profiles of human early embryos covering development during the first third of organogenesis. We identified two major categories of genes, displaying gradually reduced or gradually increased expression patterns across this developmental window. The decreasing group appeared to include stemness-specific and differentiation-specific genes important for the initiation of organogenesis, whereas the increasing group appeared to be largely differentiation related and indicative of diverse organ formation. Based on these findings, we devised a putative molecular network that may provide a framework for the regulation of early human organogenesis. Our results represent a significant step in characterization of early human embryogenesis and provide a resource for understanding human development and for stem cell engineering.
Fang
Hai
H
Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology, Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTU-SM), Shanghai 200025, China.
Yang
Ying
Y
Li
Chunliang
C
Fu
Shijun
S
Yang
Zuqing
Z
Jin
Gang
G
Wang
Kankan
K
Zhang
Ji
J
Jin
Ying
Y
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D057225:Data Mining; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D005810:Multigene Family; D038081:Organogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013045:Species Specificity