X-inactivation in female human embryonic stem cells is in a nonrandom pattern and prone to epigenetic alterations.

ABSTRACT: X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is an essential mechanism for dosage compensation of X-linked genes in female cells. We report that subcultures from lines of female human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) exhibit variation (0-100%) for XCI markers, including XIST RNA expression and enrichment of histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) on the inactive X chromosome (Xi). Surprisingly, regardless of the presence or absence of XCI markers in different cultures, all female hESCs we examined (H7, H9, and HSF6 cells) exhibit a monoallelic expression pattern for a majority of X-linked genes. Our results suggest that these established female hESCs have already completed XCI during the process of derivation and/or propagation, and the XCI pattern of lines we investigated is already not random. Mor

SUBMITTER: Shen Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2290804 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature