Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have great potential for cell-based therapies. However, lack of cell-specific markers thwarts full realization of this as it prevents their identification in vivo, and subsequent purification. In the present study, to ensure cell purity multiple individual clones were derived from the bone marrow of BALB/b and BALB/c @entity19 , and subsequently defined as MSCs by demonstrating their multipotentiality and self-renewal ability. In an effort to define the molecular signature of such MSCs and identify potentially cell-specific markers, an extensive genome-wide microarray analysis was performed comparing eight individual undifferentiated MSC clones to four different controls-corresponding differentiated MSC clones, bone marrow adherent cells, freshly isolated bone marrow cells, and embryonic fibroblasts. Strikingly, all MSC clones expressed differentially high levels of six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of the prostate ( @entity12394 and @entity47113 ). Further, both @entity12394 members showed an extremely similar expression profile to stem cell antigen-1 (Sca-1) as demonstrated by two-dimensional hierarchical cluster analysis. Most importantly, differentially high levels of @entity12394 and @entity47113 proteins were also detected in @entity1 multipotent bone marrow adherent cultures. Thus, STEAPs may represent novel markers of MSCs in @entity1 as well as @entity19 . Depletion of @entity12394 in @entity1 MSCs using RNAi resulted in decreased cell adhesion to tissue culture plastic. Further work is now needed to fully uncover its function in these cells, and to explore its potential as a marker of MSCs.

Six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of the prostate (STEAP1 and STEAP2)-differentially expressed by @entity19 and XXXX mesenchymal stem cells.

@entity19 :: ('10090', 'Species') :: ['mice'] @entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['human', 'man'] @entity12394 :: ('26872', 'Gene') :: ['STEAP', 'STEAP1'] @entity47113 :: ('261729', 'Gene') :: ['STEAP2']
@entity1 :: (9606,Species) :: ['human']
