Expression data from retinoic acid-induced differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs)

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) display a unique ability to self-renew in culture while retaining the potential to form the full repertoire of cell types found in the body. A complex molecular network underlies the maintenance of this pluripotent state. We used microarrays to identify genes that are highly expressed in pluripotent hESCs, but are consequently down-regulated upon differentiation in the presence of retinoic acid. H1 hESCs in mTeSR media were differentiated in 5 μM retinoic acid. RNA samples were collected at daily timepoints (days 0 to 10 of differentiation) for hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. Undifferentiated HUES8 and H9 hESC lines were maintained in mTeSR media and anaylzed for control and comparison purposes.