Differences and similarities in the developmental status of embryo-derived stem cells and primordial germ cells revealed by global expression profiling.

Embryonic germ-line cells are unipotent cells that give rise to either sperm or oocytes. However, pluripotent stem cells can be derived from primordial germ cells (PGCs) or spermatogonia, suggesting that germ-line cells retain a capacity for pluripotency. Here, we made genome-wide comparisons of the gene expression profiles of freshly isolated PGCs, in vitro-formed PGCs (iPGCs), and other stem cell lines, including embryonic stem cells (ESCs), embryonic germ cells (EGCs) and germ-line stem (GS) cells. Comparing PGC with ESC, 382 genes/transcripts were significantly up-regulated in ESC, while 188 were elevated in PGC. This suggests that PGCs possess transcription program distinct from that of ESC, although both share expression of many pluripotency-associated genes. Our micro-array analysis showed that the analyzed samples could be classified into two groups: one consisting of all the ESCs and most of EGCs, and the other containing PGC samples, iPGC, one type of female EGC and GS cells. We then identified "signature" genes for the two groups, and used them to characterize GS cells, EGC, and iPGCs, and revealed developmental status of each cell type. The relationships between PGCs and stem cells derived from embryos or germ cells are discussed in light of these findings.