Next-generation sequencing facilitates quantitative analysis of rat BMSCs in soft or stiff SA hydrogel

Purpose: To identify genes and the molecular pathways involved in the MSCs response to extracellular matrix stiffness, we performed RNA-sequencing of MSCs which cultured in soft (2 kPa) and stiff (18 kPa) SA hydrogels. Methods: mRNA profiles of MSCs cultured in soft (2 kPa) and stiff (18 kPa) SA hydrogel for 48 h were generated by deep sequencing, in quadruplicate, using Illumina HiSeq 2000. Results: Using an optimized data analysis workflow, we identified 33950 transcripts in MSCs with BWA workflow. Conclusions: Our results present the detailed analysis of MSCs transcriptomes cultured in soft (2 kPa) and stiff (18 kPa) matrix, and found that matrix stiffness dominated multiple mRNA pathways in MSCs. The mRNA profiles of MSCs in soft and stiff hydrogel were generated by deep sequencing, in quadruplicate, using Illumina HiSeq 2000.