Gene expression profiles of fibroblasts and fibroblast-reprogrammed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy patients and healthy controls

Although not an affected cell type, skin fibroblasts from individuals with CC-ALD, an early onset X-linked neurological disorder, show defects in very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA) metabolism that provide the basis for clinical diagnostic tests. Skin fibroblasts from CC-ALD patients can be reprogrammed into iPS cells with all the hallmark properties of pluripotency. The iPS cell phenotypes may reflect the tissue-specificity of the lipid metabolic defects found in CC-ALD patients. We report the gene expression profiles of fibroblasts and fibroblast-reprogrammed iPSCs from childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy patients and healthy controls Dermal fibroblast cultures from 2 CCALD patients and 3 healthy controls were reprogrammed into iPSCs by transfection with retroviruses desinged to express the human OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC cDNA. Fibroblasts and iPSCs were cultured in 1:1 ratio of DMEM/F12 medium supplemented with 20% KSR at 37°C with 5% CO2 until confluence for RNA extraction. The overall goal was to identify genes that are differentially expressed between CCALD patients and healthy controls.