Expression of ganglioside 9-O acetyl GD3 in undifferentiated embryonic stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) express a transient and heterogeneous pattern of molecules, which suggests a notable mechanism to control self-renewal avoid the differentiation into germ layers. We show that 9-O-acetyl GD3 (9OacGD3), a highly expressed b-series ganglioside in neural stem (NS) cells, is expressed in undifferentiated mouse ES cells in a heterogeneous fashion. After sorting, undifferentiated 9OacGD3(+) ES cell population had higher levels of nestin and Sox2 mRNA than the 9OacGD3(-) cells.