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Decoding human fetal liver haematopoiesis.

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Type

Article

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Authors

Popescu, Dorin-Mirel 
Botting, Rachel A 
Stephenson, Emily 
Green, Kile 
Webb, Simone 

Abstract

Definitive haematopoiesis in the fetal liver supports self-renewal and differentiation of haematopoietic stem cells and multipotent progenitors (HSC/MPPs) but remains poorly defined in humans. Here, using single-cell transcriptome profiling of approximately 140,000 liver and 74,000 skin, kidney and yolk sac cells, we identify the repertoire of human blood and immune cells during development. We infer differentiation trajectories from HSC/MPPs and evaluate the influence of the tissue microenvironment on blood and immune cell development. We reveal physiological erythropoiesis in fetal skin and the presence of mast cells, natural killer and innate lymphoid cell precursors in the yolk sac. We demonstrate a shift in the haemopoietic composition of fetal liver during gestation away from being predominantly erythroid, accompanied by a parallel change in differentiation potential of HSC/MPPs, which we functionally validate. Our integrated map of fetal liver haematopoiesis provides a blueprint for the study of paediatric blood and immune disorders, and a reference for harnessing the therapeutic potential of HSC/MPPs.

Description

Keywords

Blood Cells, Cellular Microenvironment, Female, Fetus, Flow Cytometry, Gene Expression Profiling, Hematopoiesis, Humans, Liver, Lymphoid Tissue, Single-Cell Analysis, Stem Cells

Journal Title

Nature

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0028-0836
1476-4687

Volume Title

574

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Rights

All rights reserved
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (107630/Z/15/Z)
European Hematology Association (EHA)
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_12009)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/P002293/1)
We acknowledge funding from the Wellcome Human Cell Atlas Strategic Science Support (WT211276/Z/18/Z); M.H. is funded by Wellcome (WT107931/Z/15/Z), The Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine and NIHR and Newcastle-Biomedical Research Centre; S.A.T. is funded by Wellcome (WT206194), ERC Consolidator and EU MRG-Grammar awards and; S.B. is funded by Wellcome (WT110104/Z/15/Z) and St. Baldrick’s Foundation; E.L. is funded by a Wellcome Sir Henry Dale and Royal Society Fellowships, European Haematology Association, Wellcome and MRC to the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and BBSRC.