Different transcriptional profiles of human embryonic stem cells grown in a feeder-free culture system and on human foreskin fibroblast feeder layers

Feeder cells provide an optimal microenvironment for the propagation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) by supplying currently known or unknown factors. However, the hESCs grown on feeder cells are not suitable for the purpose of clinical application because of the risk of contamination. In recent years, the feeder-free culture method has been developed to eliminate contamination, but some studies show that hESCs exhibit poor growth patterns in a feeder-free culture system. Regarding this phenomenon, we speculate that some genes related to hESC propagation were differently expressed in hESCs grown on feeder cells. To test this hypothesis, 3 hESC lines (NF4, NF5 and P096) were efficiently expanded in a feeder-free culture system or on human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells. The different gene expression patterns of hESCs in these 2 conditions were analyzed through microarrays. The results revealed that the hESCs cultured in both conditions maintained the expression of stemness markers and the ability to spontaneously differentiate into the 3 germ layers. The analysis of gene expression profiles revealed that 23 lncRNA and 15 genes were significantly differentially expressed in these two culture conditions. Furthermore, GO analyses showed that these genes were involved in such biological processes as growth factor stimuli, cell growth, and stem cell maintenance. To summarize, our study demonstrated that the hESCs grown on the HFF showed different gene expression patterns compared to those grown in a feeder-free culture system, suggesting that these differently expressed lncRNAs and genes played important roles in maintaining hESC propagation.