Due to their pluripotent nature and unlimited cell renewal, stem cells have been proposed as an ideal material for establishing long-term cnidarian cell cultures. However, the lack of unifying principles associated with “stemness” across the phylum complicates stem cells’ identification and isolation. Here, we for the first time report gene expression profiles for cultured coral cells, focusing on regulatory gene networks underlying pluripotency and differentiation. Cultures were initiated from Acropora digitifera tip fragments, the fastest growing tissue in Acropora. Overall, in vitro transcription resembled early larvae, overexpressing orthologs of premetazoan and Hydra stem cell markers, and transcripts with roles in cell division, migration, and differentiation. Our results suggest the presence of pluripotent cell types in cultures and indicate the existence of ancestral genome regulatory modules underlying pluripotency and cell differentiation in cnidaria. Cultured cells appear to be synthesizing protein, differentiating, and proliferating.

中文翻译：

---

培养的指代鹿角珊瑚成体细胞的转录分析揭示了刺胞动物多能性和细胞分化的祖先基因组调控模块的存在

由于其多能性和无限的细胞更新，已提出干细胞作为建立长期刺胞细胞培养物的理想材料。然而，缺乏与整个门的“干性”相关的统一原则使干细胞的识别和分离变得复杂。在这里，我们首次报告了培养珊瑚细胞的基因表达谱，重点关注多能性和分化的调控基因网络。从 Acropora digitifera 尖端片段开始培养，这是 Acropora 中生长最快的组织。总体而言，体外转录类似于早期幼虫，过度表达前后生动物和九头蛇干细胞标记的直系同源物，以及在细胞分裂、迁移和分化中起作用的转录物。我们的结果表明培养物中存在多能细胞类型，并表明存在祖先基因组调控模块，这些模块是刺胞动物多能性和细胞分化的基础。培养的细胞似乎正在合成蛋白质、分化和增殖。