Comparative gene expression study of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human first trimester fetal tissue and human embryonic stem cells

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC), an attractive stem cell with immense clinical potential, has been studied intensively by several groups around the world. Despite compliance to the ISCT (International Society for Cellular Therapy) recommended criteria for defining MSCs; heterogeneity among MSCs produced by different laboratories remains, due possibly to the different tissue sources and methodologies that have been used to derive and culture these cells. In this project, a genome-wide transcriptome study of 24526 genes was performed to assess the similarities and differences of human MSC populations derived by this laboratory, from two sources: embryonic stem cells and fetal tissue. Despite strong concordance in gene expression (R2 > 0.85), 1245 genes were differentially expressed. PANTHER analysis showed that differential expression of these genes may result in differences in biological processes such as developmental processes and metabolism between both types of MSCs. In addition, pluripotency-associated gene transcripts but not proteins were detected in MSCs derived from both embryonic stem cells and fetal tissue. Further studies may be necessary, to investigate if differential gene expression observed here manifest in functional differences that may affect the use of either MSCs for future clinical purposes.Bachelor of Science in Biological Science