Mesenchymal tumors can derive from pericytes.

We demonstrated that deletion of the p53 tumor suppressor gene in NG2 expressing cells resulted in the development of bone and soft tissue sarcomas that closely resemble human tumors. To determine gene expression differences between NG2 expressing pericytes lacking p53 and sarcomas that arose from deletion of p53 in NG2 expressing cells, RNA sequencing analysis was implemented. We isolated total RNA from NG2 expressing pericytes (2 samples), which were sorted from skeletal muscle tissues of NG2-Cre;p53flox/flox mice using an NG2 antibody. We also isolated total RNA from osteosarcomas (2 samples) and soft tissue sarcomas (2 samples), which were developed in NG2-Cre;p53flox/flox mice. Differentially expressed genes were analyzed using Illumina HiSeq 2000.