From our microarray analysis we observed large changes in gene expression under conditions of maintained pluripotency (LIF+) and particularly under conditions of differentiation (LIF− and RA) (Figure 4A and 4B). As expected many of the essential markers of early embryonic tissue differentiation that are dependent on Bptf in embryos are also Bptf-dependent in ES cells (Figure 4C). These markers include; pluripotency regulators Sox2, c-Myc, Nanog, visceral endoderm markers Lefty1, Cer1, Hex1, Foxa2 and the primitive streak markers Gsc, Lhx1, Wnt3, Fgf8, T (Figure 4C). These results reinforce the view that Bptf regulates the development of ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm in both the early embryo and in ES cells.
