Whole-genome gene expression and splicing analysis of midbrain neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells: relevance to Parkinson's disease

Directed differentiation of midbrain dopaminergic neurons from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) has galvanized much interest into their potential application in human Parkinsons disease (PD). We conducted genome-wide, exon-specific expression analyses at three temporally and phenotypically distinct stages of lineage restriction (pluripotent hESCs, multipotent neural precursor cells and terminally differentiated midbrain dopaminergic neurons). We compare these to expression data generated on the same platform from samples isolated from human fetal brain and from human control postmortem samples isolated from the substantia nigra. This comparison highlights the commonalities and differences between neural cells derived from hESCs and their counterparts in the human brain.

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