Identification of characteristic genes distinguishing neural stem cells from astrocytes.

•By bioinformatics analysis, 282 and 250 NSC-enriched genes were identified from two microarray data, respectively.•The two microarray data contained 77 overlapping NSC-enriched genes.•The 77 NSC-enriched genes were mainly involved in gene sets of E2F targets, G2M checkpoint and estrogen late response.•24 key genes enriched in NSCs were identified by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and modules analysis.•The key genes differentially expressed in NSCs and astrocytes were verified at the RNA and protein level.