FGFC did not affect the expression of pluripotent markers in human ESCs.

<p>(A-D) Pluripotent marker expression in H1 ESCs cultured in E8 Medium with bFGF (A), FGFC (B), or no added FGF (C) for 4 days. A typical data set from two independent experiments is shown. (D) Expression levels of pluripotent marker genes (<i>Nanog</i>, <i>Oct-4</i>, <i>Cripto</i>, <i>Tert</i>, <i>Rex1</i> and <i>Dnmt3b</i>) were analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR. The graphs represent relative gene expression levels when the level of H1 ESCs prior to starting each series of experiments was set as 1. Error bars indicate the standard deviations of three independent experiments. Human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) were used as a negative control. *, P < 0.05 compared to ESCs cultured with FGFC by paired t-tests. (E–G) Scatter plots showing log₂ transformed average expression values from gene expression profiles of H1 ESCs prior to starting a series of cultures (pre-culture H1) and H1 ESCs cultured with bFGF (E), FGFC (F), or no FGF (G) using arrayed 60 k probe sets. A typical data set from three independent experiments is shown. The full array data set was deposited in the GEO databank (GSE55428). Black lines indicate 2-fold up-regulation or down-regulation. Scale bar: 100 μm in (A-C).