Differences between Cellular and Molecular Profiles of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Generated from Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts

Abstract Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are a new alternative for the development of patient-specific stem cells, and the aim of this study was to determine whether differences exist between the cellular and molecular profiles of iPS cells, generated using lentiviral vectors, compared to ES cells. The lentiviral infection efficiency differed according to the method of cell culture (adherent cells: 0.085%; suspended cells: 0.785%). Six iPS cell lines exhibited typical ES cell morphology and marker expression, but varied in their in vitro/in vivo differentiation ability. Global gene transcription analysis revealed that core pluripotency genes were expressed at lower levels in iPS cell lines compared to D3-ES cells (Pou5f1: ×1.6∼2.2-fold, Sox2: ×2.58∼10.0-fold, Eras: ×1.08∼2.54-fold, Dppa5a: ×1.04∼1.41-fold), while other genes showed higher expression in iPS cells (Lin28: ×1.43∼2.33-fold; Dnmt3b: ×1.33∼2.64-fold). This pattern was repeated in a survey of specific functional groups of genes (surface mar...