Gene expression analysis upon exposure of hESCs to novel set of self-renewal and differentiation compounds

Here we present a strategy to adapt hESCs to high-throughput screening (HTS) conditions, resulting in an assay suitable for the discovery of small molecules that drive hESC self-renewal or differentiation. Use of this new assay has led to the identification of several currently marketed drugs and natural compounds promoting short-term hESC maintenance and compounds directing early lineage choice. Global gene expression analysis upon drug treatment reveals overlapping and novel pathways correlated to hESC self-renewal and differentiation. Our results demonstrate feasibility of hESC-based HTS and enhance the available repertoire of chemical compounds for manipulating hESC fate. Keywords: Global gene expression analysis, drug response, human ES cells, pluripotency, differentiation, self-renewal Undifferentiated hESCs were exposed to control and drug treatments for 24 hours followed by mRNA expression analysis