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Open AccessHighly AccessResearch article

A gene expression signature shared by human mature oocytes and embryonic stem cells

Said Assou1,2,3,4 email, Doris Cerecedo1,2 email, Sylvie Tondeur1,2,3 email, Véronique Pantesco1,2 email, Outi Hovatta5 email, Bernard Klein1,2,3 email, Samir Hamamah1,2,3,6 email and John De Vos1,2,3 email

CHU Montpellier, Institute for Research in Biotherapy, Hôpital Saint-Eloi, Montpellier, F-34000 France

INSERM, U847, Montpellier, F-34000 France

Université MONTPELLIER1, UFR de médecine, Montpellier, F-34000 France

MacoPharma, Tourcoing, F-59200 France

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, CLINTEC, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden

CHU Montpellier, Unité biologie clinique d'AMP – DPI, Hôpital Arnaud de Villeneuve, Montpellier, F-34000 France

author email corresponding author email

BMC Genomics 2009, 10:10doi:10.1186/1471-2164-10-10

Published: 8 January 2009

Abstract

Background

The first week of human pre-embryo development is characterized by the induction of totipotency and then pluripotency. The understanding of this delicate process will have far reaching implication for in vitro fertilization and regenerative medicine. Human mature MII oocytes and embryonic stem (ES) cells are both able to achieve the feat of cell reprogramming towards pluripotency, either by somatic cell nuclear transfer or by cell fusion, respectively. Comparison of the transcriptome of these two cell types may highlight genes that are involved in pluripotency initiation.

Results

Based on a microarray compendium of 205 samples, we compared the gene expression profile of mature MII oocytes and human ES cells (hESC) to that of somatic tissues. We identified a common oocyte/hESC gene expression profile, which included a strong cell cycle signature, genes associated with pluripotency such as LIN28 and TDGF1, a large chromatin remodelling network (TOP2A, DNMT3B, JARID2, SMARCA5, CBX1, CBX5), 18 different zinc finger transcription factors, including ZNF84, and several still poorly annotated genes such as KLHL7, MRS2, or the Selenophosphate synthetase 1 (SEPHS1). Interestingly, a large set of genes was also found to code for proteins involved in the ubiquitination and proteasome pathway. Upon hESC differentiation into embryoid bodies, the transcription of this pathway declined. In vitro, we observed a selective sensitivity of hESC to the inhibition of the activity of the proteasome.

Conclusion

These results shed light on the gene networks that are concurrently overexpressed by the two human cell types with somatic cell reprogramming properties.


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