Expression of Ribosomal RNA and Protein Genes in Human Embryonic Stem Cells Is Associated With the Activating H3K4me3 Histone Mark.

ABSTRACT: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) exhibit unrestricted and indefinite, but stringently controlled, proliferation, and can differentiate into any lineage in the body. In the current study, we test the hypothesis that expression of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and ribosomal protein genes (RPGs) contribute to the ability of hESCs to proliferate indefinitely. Consistent with the accelerated growth rate of hESCs, we find that hESC lines H1 and H9 both exhibit significantly higher levels of rRNA when compared to a panel of normal and cancer human cell lines. Although many RPGs are expressed at levels that comparable to other human cell lines, a few RPGs also exhibit higher expression levels. In situ nuclear run-on assays reveal that both nucleoli in hESCs actively transcribe nascent rRNA. Employing genome-wid

SUBMITTER: Zaidi SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4879020 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature