title: Insights into the human mesenchymal stromal/stem cell identity through integrative transcriptomic profiling.
abstract: Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells (MSCs), isolated under the criteria established by the ISCT, still have a poorly characterized phenotype that is difficult to distinguish from similar cell populations. Although the field of transcriptomics and functional genomics has quickly grown in the last decade, a deep comparative analysis of human MSCs expression profiles in a meaningful cellular context has not been yet performed. There is also a need to find a well-defined MSCs gene-signature because many recent biomedical studies show that key cellular interaction processes (i.e. inmuno-modulation, cellular cross-talk, cellular maintenance, differentiation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition) are dependent on the mesenchymal stem cells within the stromal niche.
  
  
  
  In this work we define a core mesenchymal lineage signature of 489 genes based on a deep comparative analysis of multiple transcriptomic expression data series that comprise: (i) MSCs of different tissue origins; (ii) MSCs in different states of commitment; (iii) other related non-mesenchymal human cell types. The work integrates several public datasets, as well as de-novo produced microarray and RNA-Seq datasets. The results present tissue-specific signatures for adipose tissue, chorionic placenta, and bone marrow MSCs, as well as for dermal fibroblasts; providing a better definition of the relationship between fibroblasts and MSCs. Finally, novel CD marker patterns and cytokine-receptor profiles are unravelled, especially for BM-MSCs; with MCAM (CD146) revealed as a prevalent marker in this subtype of MSCs.
  
  
  
  The improved biomolecular characterization and the released genome-wide expression signatures of human MSCs provide a comprehensive new resource that can drive further functional studies and redesigned cell therapy applications.
authors.affiliation: Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics Group, Cancer Research Center (IBMCC, CSIC/USAL) and IBSAL, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Salamanca, Spain.|Hematology Department, IBSAL-Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.|Centro en Red de Medicina Regenerativa y Terapia Celular de Castilla y León, Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roson-Burgo
authors.affiliation: Hematology Department, IBSAL-Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.|Centro en Red de Medicina Regenerativa y Terapia Celular de Castilla y León, Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: Fermin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Guijo
authors.affiliation: Hematology Department, IBSAL-Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.|Centro en Red de Medicina Regenerativa y Terapia Celular de Castilla y León, Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: Consuelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Del Cañizo
authors.affiliation: Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics Group, Cancer Research Center (IBMCC, CSIC/USAL) and IBSAL, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Salamanca, Spain. jrivas@usal.es.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Las Rivas
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000166:cytology; D015415:Biomarkers; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000235:genetics; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D010920:Placenta / Q000166:cytology; D011247:Pregnancy; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Adipose tissue; Bioinformatic meta-analysis; Bone marrow; CD marker; Cytokines; Human gene expression; Mesenchymal stem cells; Placenta; Stromal cells