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This Article Free via Open Access: OA OA Full Text Full Text (PDF) OA All Versions of this Article: 2007-1041v1 26/9/2266    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Maynard, S. Articles by Bohr, V. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Maynard, S. Articles by Bohr, V. A.

STEM CELL EPIGENETICS, GENOMICS, AND PROTEOMICS

Human Embryonic Stem Cells Have Enhanced Repair of Multiple Forms of DNA Damage

^aLaboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland, USA;
^bBuck Institute for Age Research, Novato, California, USA;
^cCrystallography and Recombinant Enzyme Art Unit, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, Virginia, USA;
^dInvitrogen Corporation, Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Carlsbad, California, USA

Key Words. Human embryonic stem cells • DNA repair • Genomic maintenance • Comet assay • Microarray

Correspondence: Correspondence: Vilhelm A. Bohr, M.D., Ph.D., Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Box 1, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224-6825, USA. Telephone: 410-558-8162; Fax: 410-558-8157; e-mail: bohrv{at}grc.nia.nih.gov

Received on December 8, 2007; accepted for publication on June 8, 2008.

First published online in STEM CELLS EXPRESS  June 19, 2008.

Embryonic stem cells need to maintain genomic integrity so that they can retain the ability to differentiate into multiple cell types without propagating DNA errors. Previous studies have suggested that mechanisms of genome surveillance, including DNA repair, are superior in mouse embryonic stem cells compared with various differentiated murine cells. Using single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) we found that human embryonic stem cells (BG01, I6) have more efficient repair of different types of DNA damage (generated from H₂O₂, UV-C, ionizing radiation, or psoralen) than human primary fibroblasts (WI-38, hs27) and, with the exception of UV-C damage, HeLa cells. Microarray gene expression analysis showed that mRNA levels of several DNA repair genes are elevated in human embryonic stem cells compared with their differentiated forms (embryoid bodies). These data suggest that genomic maintenance pathways are enhanced in human embryonic stem cells, relative to differentiated human cells.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.

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