Dataset: Gene Expression Atlas for Human Embryogenesis

Gene expression profiling has provided critical insights into the molecular pathways underlying development of model organisms, however little information is available on regulated gene expression during human embryogenesis. We have now filled this important gap of knowledge by performing genome-wide microarray analysis of the Homo sapiens gene expression during the 4-9th week, a period when most organs develop. We analyzed individually 3 embryos for each of the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th week of human embryonic development by using the Affymetrix U133 plus 2.0 human GeneChip array.About half of all human genes are expressed and 18.6% of the expressed genes were significantly regulated during this important period. We further identified over 5000 regulated genes, most of which were previously not known to be associated with animal development. Our study also revealed that the genes involved here are distinct from those during early embryogenesis, which include three groups of maternal genes. Furthermore, we discovered that genes in a given developmental process are coordinately regulated. This led us to develop an easily searchable database of this entire collection of gene expression profiles, allowing for identification new genes important for a particular developmental process/pathway and deducing the potential function of a novel gene. The validity of the predictions from the database was demonstrated with two examples through spatiotemporal analyses of the two novel genes. Such a database should serve as a highly valuable resource for the molecular analysis of human development and pathogenesis. Human embryos were obtained from therapeutic termination of pregnancy induced by Mifepristone. Morphologically normal embryos were selected and staged according to the Carnegie classification and the Chinese embryonic developmental characteristics. Each whole embryo was micro-dissected from an intact trophoblast and stored directly in liquid nitrogen or homogenized using Trizol solution and then stored at -80oC. Total RNA was isolated from each whole embryo individually and each of the 3 RNA samples for each developmental time point was independently analyzed on a Human U133 plus 2.0 Genome Oligonucleotide Array.

Species:

human

Samples:

18

Source:

E-GEOD-15744

PubMed:

20430792

Updated:

Dec.12, 2014

Registered:

Sep.12, 2014