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Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells were first discovered in mice in 1981 by Martin Evans. In 1998, James Thomson identified a method to isolate embryonic stem cells from humans. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are obtained from 3-5 day old embryos that remain unused after an in vitro fertilization procedure.
ES cells are grown in a culture medium where they can divide indefinitely, creating ES cell lines. Under certain conditions, ES cells can differentiate, either spontaneously into a variety of...

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are undifferentiated pluripotent cells, meaning they can produce any cell type in the body. This gives them tremendous potential in science and medicine since they can generate specific cell types for use in research or to replace body cells lost due to damage or disease.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Profiling Individual Human Embryonic Stem Cells by Quantitative RT-PCR

Profiling Individual Human Embryonic Stem Cells by Quantitative RT-PCR

Published on: May 29, 2014

A microfluidic processor for gene expression profiling of single human embryonic stem cells.

Jiang F Zhong¹, Yan Chen, Joshua S Marcus

¹Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. jzhong@usc.edu

|December 21, 2007

Summary

This study introduces a microfluidic device for single-cell gene expression profiling in human embryonic stem cells (hESC). It reveals significant variability in gene expression among individual cells, highlighting limitations of bulk analysis.

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A Combinatorial Single-cell Approach to Characterize the Molecular and Immunophenotypic Heterogeneity of Human Stem and Progenitor Populations

A Combinatorial Single-cell Approach to Characterize the Molecular and Immunophenotypic Heterogeneity of Human Stem and Progenitor Populations

Published on: October 25, 2018

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Last Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Profiling Individual Human Embryonic Stem Cells by Quantitative RT-PCR

Profiling Individual Human Embryonic Stem Cells by Quantitative RT-PCR

Published on: May 29, 2014

Multiplexed Single Cell mRNA Sequencing Analysis of Mouse Embryonic Cells

Multiplexed Single Cell mRNA Sequencing Analysis of Mouse Embryonic Cells

Published on: January 7, 2020

A Combinatorial Single-cell Approach to Characterize the Molecular and Immunophenotypic Heterogeneity of Human Stem and Progenitor Populations

A Combinatorial Single-cell Approach to Characterize the Molecular and Immunophenotypic Heterogeneity of Human Stem and Progenitor Populations

Published on: October 25, 2018

Area of Science:

Stem cell biology
Molecular biology
Biotechnology

Background:

Gene expression in human embryonic stem cells (hESC) is crucial for understanding development.
Bulk gene expression assays provide averaged data, obscuring individual cell behavior and regulatory relationships.
Cellular heterogeneity in samples complicates interpretation of gene expression patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and validate a microfluidic approach for high-efficiency, large-scale single-cell mRNA to cDNA synthesis.
To analyze gene expression variability at the single-cell level in hESCs.
To compare single-cell gene expression data with traditional bulk analysis.

Main Methods:

Development of a microfluidic device for simultaneous mRNA extraction and cDNA synthesis from individual hESCs.
Quantification of absolute mRNA molecule numbers for B2M, Nodal, and Fzd4 genes in single hESCs.
Comparison of gene expression profiles derived from single-cell cDNA versus population-averaged cDNA.

Main Results:

The microfluidic device achieved high mRNA-to-cDNA conversion efficiency, enabling scalable single-cell profiling.
Significant variability in the expression of B2M, Nodal, and Fzd4 was observed among individual hESCs.
Some hESCs within the G0/G1 phase population showed undetectable levels for interrogated genes, contradicting bulk analysis findings.
Relative gene expression levels differed substantially between single-cell and population-averaged measurements.

Conclusions:

Bulk gene expression analysis does not accurately represent expression levels in individual hESCs due to significant cellular heterogeneity.
Discrete single-cell analysis is essential for understanding gene regulation in early development and differentiation.
The developed microfluidic approach offers a powerful tool for advancing single-cell gene expression studies in stem cells.