title: Transcriptome sequencing of neonatal thymic epithelial cells.
abstract: In order to gain novel insights into thymus biology, we analysed the whole transcriptome of cortical and medullary thymic epithelial cells (cTECs and mTECs) and of skin epithelial cells (ECs). Consistent with their ability to express ectopic genes, mTECs expressed more genes than other cell populations. Out of a total of 15,069 genes expressed in TECs, 25% were differentially expressed by at least 5-fold in cTECs vs. mTECs. Genes expressed at higher levels in cTECs than mTECs regulate numerous cell functions including cell differentiation, cell movement and microtubule dynamics. Many positive regulators of the cell cycle were overexpressed in skin ECs relative to TECs. Our RNA-seq data provide novel systems-level insights into the transcriptional landscape of TECs, highlight substantial divergences in the transcriptome of TEC subsets and suggest that cell cycle progression is differentially regulated in TECs and skin ECs.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada H3C 3J7.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: St-Pierre
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brochu
authors.forename: Juan Ruiz
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Vanegas
authors.forename: Maude
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dumont-Lagacé
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lemieux
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perreault
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers