We previously reported that transient overexpression of reprogramming factors can be used to generate induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, induced tissue-specific stem (iTS) cells, and fibroblast-like (iF) cells from pancreatic tissue. iF cells have tumorigenic ability and behave similarly to
pancreatic cancer cells. In this study, we analyzed gene expression in iF cells and iTS-P cells (iTS cells from pancreatic tissue) via microarray analysis and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The expression levels of the Mybl2 and Lyn genes, which are reported to be oncogenes, were significantly higher in iF cells than in iTS-P cells. The expression level of
Nestin, which is expressed in not only pancreatic progenitor cells but also pancreatic ductal
adenocarcinomas, was also higher in iF cells than in iTS-P cells. Itgb6 and
Fgf13, which are involved in the pathogenesis of diseases such as
cancer, exhibited higher expression levels in iF cells than in iTS-P cells. Unexpectedly, the expression levels of genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), except Bmp4, were lower in iF cells than in iTS-P cells. These data suggest that the Mybl2, Lyn,
Nestin, Itgb6, and
Fgf13 genes could be important
biomarkers to distinguish iTS-P cells from iF cells.