Abstracts (poster) - Wissenschaft Online

Gabriela Galiová, Eva Bártová, Andrea Harni•arová, Jana Krej•í, Stanislav Kozubek
Single-cell c-myc gene expression in human embryonic stem
cells and human teratocarcinoma NTERA cells
The c-myc gene was found to be responsible for the self-renewal ability of mouse
embryonic stem cells (mESCs), but in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) it triggers
apoptosis and induces differentiation (Sumi et al., 2007). Here, nuclear locations of the cmyc
gene and complexes involving c-myc transcripts (c-mycT) have been investigated.
The c-myc gene and its' transcripts were positioned non-randomly within the interphase
nucleus, additionally, c myc RNA signals associated and/or accumulated at nucleoli.
Using oligo-probes, designed to exon II and exon III of the c-myc gene (Levsky et al.,
2002), single c-mycT was preferentially observed in human embryonic stem cells
(hESCs). Conversely, human embryonal teratocarcinoma NTERA cells were characterized
by the presence of multiple c myc RNA signals located in both the nucleoli and
nucleoplasm. In all cell types studied, c mycT, when accumulated at nucleoli, occupied
periphery of this organelle, not that region associated with cultivation surface. Specific
nuclear and nucleolar positioning of the c-mycT probably reflects the kinetics in the cmyc
RNA metabolism.
This work was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, grant Nos:
204/06/0978, and by other grants: AVOZ50040507 and AVOZ50040702. We thank Prof.
Douglas Melton (HHMI/Harvard University) for providing us with hESCs.
Literature
1. Sumi T., Tsuneyoshi N., Nakatsuji N., Suemori H. (2007) Apoptosis and differentiation
of human embryonic stem cells induced by sustained activation of c-Myc. Oncogene
26(38):5564-5576.
2. Levsky J.M., Shenoy S.M., Pezo R.C., Singer R.H. (2002) Single-cell gene expression
profiling. Science 297(5582):836-840.
contact:
Mgr. Gabriela Galiová
Institute of Biophysics ASCR, v.v.i.
Institute of Biophysics ASCR, v.v.i.
galiova@ibp.cz
Královopolská 135
61265 Brno (Czech Republic)