Expression data from Bmi1-null c-Kit+Sca-1+Lineage marker- (KSL) hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells

Bmi1 is a component of polycomb repressive complex 1 and its role in the inheritance of the stemness of adult somatic stem cells has been well characterized. Bmi1 maintains the self-renewal capacity of adult stem cells, at least partially, by repressing the Ink4a/Arf locus that encodes a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p16Ink4a, and a tumor suppressor, p19Arf 14. Deletion of both Ink4a and Arf in Bmi1-deficient mice substantially restored the defective self-renewal capacity of HSCs and neural stem cells. Purified KSL cells from BM of wild-type, Bmi1-/-, Ink4a-/-Arf-/-, and Bmi1-/- Ink4a-/-Arf-/- mice were subjected to RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays.