Transcriptomic profiling of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) differentiation into mesangial cells

Purpose: To study the pattern of transcriptomic changes during MSC differentiation into mesangial cells and to identify biomarkers or key genes involved in this differentiation. Methods: Differentiation of MSC into mesangial cells was induced by co-culturing with injured mesangial cells in trans-well dishes (n=3). Total RNA from co-cultured MSC at different time point were extracted before running RNA sequencing. Generated RNA-seq data was analysed. Results and conclusions: A systematic analysis has identified several monotonic pattern key genes (either ascending or descending). These identified descending monotonic key genes are related to stemness or regulation of cell cycle while ascending monotonic key genes are associated with the functions of mesangial cells. A time ordered study of transcriptomic profiling during MSC-mesangial cells differentiation process generated using RNAseq.