Abstract
The molecular mechanism underlying pluripotency is largely unknown. Here, we provide the first global transcriptional profile of the state of "stemness" in human embryonic stem cells (HESCs). We have identified a set of 918 genes enriched in undifferentiated HESCs compared with their differentiated counterparts. These include ligand/receptor pairs and secreted inhibitors of the FGF, TGFbeta/BMP, and Wnt pathways, highlighting a prevalent role for these pathways in HESCs. Importantly, a significant number of HESCs-enriched genes, including several signaling components, are found to be intersected with published mouse embryonic stem cell data, indicating that a "core molecular program" is shared between the two pluripotent stem cells.
Publication types
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Comparative Study
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / genetics
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Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / metabolism
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Cell Differentiation / physiology
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Cells, Cultured
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Embryo, Mammalian / cytology
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Expressed Sequence Tags
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Fibroblast Growth Factors / genetics
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Fibroblast Growth Factors / metabolism
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Gene Expression
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Gene Expression Profiling / methods
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Humans
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Mice
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Pluripotent Stem Cells / physiology
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Reproducibility of Results
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Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
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Signal Transduction
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Stem Cells / physiology*
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Transforming Growth Factor beta / genetics
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Transforming Growth Factor beta / metabolism
Substances
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Bone Morphogenetic Proteins
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Transforming Growth Factor beta
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Fibroblast Growth Factors