Gene induction and categorical reprogramming during in vitro human endometrial fibroblast decidualization

Human decidual fibroblasts undergo a differentiative commitment to the acquisition of endocrine, metabolic, and structural cell functions in a process known as decidualization. Decidualization is critical for embryo implantation and placental function. We characterized gene expression pattern kinetics during decidual fibroblast differentiation by microarray analysis. Of 6,918 genes analyzed, 121 genes were induced by more than twofold, 110 were downregulated, and 50 showed biphasic behavior. Dynamically regulated genes were could be fit into nine K- means algorithm- based kinetic pattern groups, and by biologic classification, into five categories: cell and tissue function, cell and tissue structure, regulation of gene expression, expressed sequence tag (EST), and "function unknown." Reprogramming of genes within specific functional groups and gene families was a prominent feature that consisted of simultaneous induction and downregulation of a set of genes with related function. We previously observed a conceptually similar process during fetal trophoblast differentiation, in which the same phenomena applied to different genes. Of the 569 dynamically regulated genes regulated by either model, only 81 of these were in common. These results suggest that reprogramming of gene expression within focused functional categories represents a fundamental aspect of cellular differentiation.