Transcriptional profiling of mouse and human ES cells identifies SLAIN1, a novel stem cell gene

We analyzed the transcriptional profiles of differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and show that embryoid bodies (EBs) sequentially expressed genes associated with the epiblast, primitive streak, mesoderm and endoderm of the developing embryo, validating ESCs as a model system for identifying cohorts of genes marking specific stages of embryogenesis. By comparing the transcriptional profiles of undifferentiated ESCs to those of their diffe