Figure 5

Identification of a nucleated erythrocyte-specific gene signature in the developing liver. A. Expression of bone marrow-specific genes in the fetal liver. Left, bone marrow-specific genes identified in the GNF Mouse GeneAtlas V3 dataset were queried for changes in the fetal/neonatal dataset. Right, bone marrow-specific genes expressed in the fetal liver with erythrocyte-associated functions in iron transport and hemoglobin synthesis. Genes confirmed by RT-PCR are indicated. B. Alteration in the signature genes for different blood cell types in the developing liver. The percentage of genes that were altered in each of the groups out of the total number of genes was compared across all of the time points. The values were compared to the expected contribution from each of the cell types based on percentage of total number of genes (right column). The figure shows the greater than expected contribution of the nucleated erythrocyte signature genes to the overall pattern. Changes in the genes for the following cell types or categories were not observed: Differentiated cells, Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Naïve T-cells. The scale represents the percentage of genes from the indicated cell type to the overall gene expression pattern. C. Expression of nucleated erythrocyte-specific genes in the fetal liver. Nucleated erythrocyte-specific genes [16] were examined for expression changes in the fetal/neonatal dataset. Genes confirmed by RT-PCR are indicated. D. RT-PCR confirmation of nucleated erythrocyte-specific gene expression in livers from GD14 to PND28.