Expression analysis of mouse embryo fibrobalsts lacking Tgif1

Tgif1 is a transcriptional corepressor that limits TGFβ responsive gene expression. TGFβ signaling has antiproliferative effects in several cell types, generally resulting in a G1 arrest. Mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) are primary cells with limited life-span, that senesce after several passages in culture. We compared expression profiles of primary MEFs lacking Tgif1 with wild types at passage three, and with wild type MEFs at passage 5, to identify changes in gene expression due to loss of Tgif1 and due to increasing passage number. Primary MEFs were passaged on a 3T3 protocol and were harvested at passage 3 or 5, for RNA isolation and hybridization to Affymetrix microarrays.