Elucidation of the phenotypic, functional and molecular topography of a myeloerythroid progenitor cell hierarchy

The major myeloid blood cell lineages, including erythrocytes, platelets, granulocytes and macrophages, are generated from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) by differentiation through a series of increasingly more committed progenitor cells. Precise phenotypic identification and functional characterization of such intermediate progenitors has important consequences for understanding fundamental differentiation processes and is clinically relevant since such events become dysregulated in various disease settings, including leukemia. While previous studies have suggested a hierarchy for myeloid differentiation involving a common progenitor through which all myeloid lineages are derived, several recent studies have suggested that such a developmental intermediate might not be an absolute requirement. Here, we evaluated the functional in vitro and in vivo potentials of a range of prospectively isolated myeloid precursors with differential expression of CD150, Endoglin and CD41. Our studies reveal a complex hierarchy of myeloerythroid progenitors with distinct and developmentally restricted lineage potentials. Global gene expression signatures of these cellular subsets revealed expression patterns consistent with their functional capacities, while hierarchical clustering analysis provides details on their lineage relationships. These data challenge existing models of hematopoietic differentiation, by suggesting that progenitors of the innate and adaptive immune system in the adult separate late, and to a large extent, following the divergence of megakaryocytic/erythroid potential.

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Pronk CJ, Rossi DJ, Månsson R, Attema JL, Norddahl GL, Chan CK, Sigvardsson M, Weissman IL, Bryder D