Skip to main content

Immunofluorescence Microscopy and mRNA Analysis of Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) Including Primary Cilia Associated Signaling Pathways

  • Protocol
  • First Online:
Human Embryonic Stem Cell Protocols

Abstract

This chapter describes the procedures for immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM) and quantitative PCR (qPCR) analyses of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) grown specifically under feeder-free conditions. A detailed protocol is provided outlining the steps from initially growing the cells, passaging onto 16-well glass chambers, and continuing with the general IFM and qPCR anlysis. The techniques are illustrated with results on cellular localization of transcriptional factors and components of the Hedgehog, Wnt, PDGF, and TGFβ signaling pathways to primary cilia in stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Furthermore, a sample qPCR experiment is experimentally shown illustrating that these techniques can be important tools in answering basic questions about hESC biology.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Protocol
USD 49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Borlongan CV (2012) Recent preclinical evidence advancing cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. Exp Neurol 237:142–146

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Schwartz SD, Hubschman J-P, Heilwell G et al (2012) Embryonic stem cell trials for macular degeneration: a preliminary report. Lancet 379:713–720

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Schulz WA, Hoffmann MJ (2007) Transcription factor networks in embryonic stem cells and testicular cancer and the definition of epigenetics. Epigenetics 2:37–42

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Satir P, Christensen ST (2007) Overview of structure and function of mammalian cilia. Annu Rev Physiol 69:377–400

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Satir P, Pedersen LB, Christensen ST (2010) The primary cilium at a glance. J Cell Sci 123:499–503

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Christensen ST, Clement CA, Satir P et al (2012) Primary cilia and coordination of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signalling. J Pathol 226(2):172–184

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Davis EE, Katsanis N (2012) The ciliopathies: a transitional model into systems biology of human genetic disease. Curr Opin Genet Dev 22:290–303

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Norris DP, Grimes DT (2012) Mouse models of ciliopathies: the state of the art. Dis Model Mech 5(3):299–312

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Valente EM, Rosti RO, Gibbs E et al (2014) Primary cilia in neurodevelopmental disorders. Nat Rev Neurol 10:27–36

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Koefoed K, Veland IR, Pedersen LB et al (2014) Cilia and coordination of signaling networks during heart development. Organogenesis 10:108–125

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Kiprilov EN, Awan A, Desprat R et al (2008) Human embryonic stem cells in culture possess primary cilia with hedgehog signaling machinery. J Cell Biol 180:897–904

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Clement CA, Ajbro KD, Koefoed K et al (2013) TGF-beta signaling is associated with endocytosis at the pocket region of the primary cilium. Cell Rep 3:1806–1814

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Chin ACP, Fong WJ, Goh L-T et al (2007) Identification of proteins from feeder conditioned medium that support human embryonic stem cells. J Biotechnol 130:320–328

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Clement CA, Kristensen SG, Møllgård K et al (2009) The primary cilium coordinates early cardiogenesis and hedgehog signaling in cardiomyocyte differentiation. J Cell Sci 122:3070–3082

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. He Q, Wang G, Wakade S et al (2014) Primary cilia in stem cells and neural progenitors are regulated by neutral sphingomyelinase 2 and ceramide. Mol Biol Cell 25(11):1715–1729

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Romani S, Illi B, De Mori R et al (2014) The ciliary proteins Meckelin and Jouberin are required for retinoic acid-dependent neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells. Differentiation 87(3):136–146

    Google Scholar 

  17. Huang J-G, Shen C-B, Wu W-B et al (2014) Primary cilia mediate sonic hedgehog signaling to regulate neuronal-like differentiation of bone mesenchymal stem cells for resveratrol induction in vitro. J Neurosci Res 92(5):587–596

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Larkins CE, Aviles GDG, East MP et al (2011) Arl13b regulates ciliogenesis and the dynamic localization of Shh signaling proteins. Mol Biol Cell 22(23):4694–4703

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Rho J-Y, Yu K, Han J-S et al (2006) Transcriptional profiling of the developmentally important signalling pathways in human embryonic stem cells. Hum Reprod (Oxford, England) 21:405–412

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Pebay A, Wong RC, Pitson SM et al (2005) Essential roles of sphingosine-1-phosphate and platelet-derived growth factor in the maintenance of human embryonic stem cells. Stem Cells 23:1541–1548

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Takeda J, Seino S, Bell GI (1992) Human Oct3 gene family: cDNA sequences, alternative splicing, gene organization, chromosomal location, and expression at low levels in adult tissues. Nucleic Acids Res 20:4613–4620

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Booth HAF, Holland PWH (2004) Eleven daughters of NANOG. Genomics 84:229–238

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Adewumi O, Aflatoonian B, Ahrlund-Richter L et al (2007) Characterization of human embryonic stem cell lines by the International Stem Cell Initiative. Nat Biotechnol 25:803–816

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Pfaffl MW (2001) A new mathematical model for relative quantification in real-time RT-PCR. Nucleic Acids Res 29:e45

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Wang X, Seed B (2003) A PCR primer bank for quantitative gene expression analysis. Nucleic Acids Res 31:e154

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Marshall O (2007) Graphical design of primers with PerlPrimer. Methods Mol Biol (Clifton, NJ) 402:403–414

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Laursen SB, Mollgard K, Olesen C et al (2007) Regional differences in expression of specific markers for human embryonic stem cells. Reprod Biomed Online 15:89–98

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maj Linea Vestergaard .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this protocol

Cite this protocol

Vestergaard, M.L., Awan, A., Warzecha, C.B., Christensen, S.T., Andersen, C.Y. (2014). Immunofluorescence Microscopy and mRNA Analysis of Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) Including Primary Cilia Associated Signaling Pathways. In: Turksen, K. (eds) Human Embryonic Stem Cell Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1307. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/7651_2014_127

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/7651_2014_127

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2667-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2668-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics