TeratoScore: Assessing the Differentiation Potential of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells by Quantitative Expression Analysis of Teratomas

Teratoma formation is the gold standard assay for testing the capacity of human pluripotent stem cells to differentiate into all embryonic germ layers. Although widely used, little effort has been made to transform this qualitative assay into a quantitative one. Using gene expression data from a wide variety of cells, we created a scorecard representing tissues from all germ layers and extraembryonic tissues. TeratoScore, an online, open-source platform based on this scorecard, distinguishes pluripotent stem cell-derived teratomas from malignant tumors, translating cell potency into a quantitative measure (http://benvenisty.huji.ac.il/teratoscore.php). The teratomas used for the algorithm also allowed us to examine gene expression differences between tumors with a diploid karyotype and those initiated by aneuploid cells. Chromosomally aberrant teratomas show a significantly different gene expression signature from that of teratomas originating from diploid cells, particularly in central nervous system-specific genes, congruent with human chromosomal syndromes.