Fig. 3

The method used to identify ZNF25, ZNF608 and ZBTB as candidates of interest in osteogenesis. The gene expression profiles for a number of transcription factors were extracted from two microarray datasets (Illumina and Affymetrix), using a curated set of human transcription factors (TFs). Self Organising Maps (SOMs) were then used to cluster the subsets of TFs according to temporal expression pattern. TFs that were upregulated in SOM clusters were then further screened based on literature analysis. Upregulated TFs that were previously unreported to be associated with hMSC differentiation, bone formation or related processes were selected for further analysis. In addition, the TF expression profiles extracted from the Illumina array dataset were analysed for differential expression. TFs that were significantly differentially expressed between undifferentiated hMSC and differentiated OB were selected for further analysis. Three TFs satisfied all of these selection criteria, namely ZNF25, ZBTB38 and ZNF608