The search for factors in human feeders that support the derivation and propagation of human embryonic stem cells: preliminary studies using transcriptome profiling by serial analysis of gene expression.

Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) was used to obtain the transcriptome profiles of a supportive human fetal skin feeder (Detroit 551) and a nonsupportive human fetal lung feeder (MRC-5) for human embryonic stem cells. A pairwise comparison of the two SAGE profiles showed that fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), a bone morphogenetic protein 4 pathway inhibitor, Gremlin 1, and several extracellular matrix proteins that could potentially aid human embryonic stem cell attachment and growth were highly expressed in Detroit 551 fibroblasts.