To query the extent to which global gene expression in hiPSC-astrocytes resembles primary human fetal brain astrocytes, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) transcriptomic analyses on four control hiPSC-astrocytes and primary human fetal astrocytes from two brain regions (cerebral cortex and midbrain), together with isogenic hiPSC-derived NPCs and neurons (Figures 2 and S2), comparing them with in vivo human and rodent astrocyte transcriptomic datasets (Figures 2, 3, S2, and S3). hiPSC-astrocytes showed transcriptional profiles most similar to those of fetal brain astrocytes. Using PCA and hierarchical clustering, all four hiPSC-astrocytes clustered together with the primary human fetal astrocytes and distinct from the NPC and neuron clusters (Figures 2A, 2B, and S2A).
