Single Cell Resolution Mapping Of Hematopoietic Stem And Progenitor Cell States Throughout Human Life

The hematopoietic system continuously generates and replenishes the supply of circulating blood cells from embryonic life throughout the entirety of human lifespan. Studies in mouse development have shown that the repertoire of mature blood cell types produced changes dramatically during development and aging, with hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) adapting their output to meet age-specific physiologic needs. In humans, it is presumed that age-dependent changes in the production of mature blood lineages underlie the tendency of blood disorders to skew toward certain ages of onset. The observations that mature cell output changes throughout life but mechanisms of terminal hematopoietic differentiation within each lineage remain consistent suggest that age-specific hematopoietic states are programmed at the level of HSPCs. Although the developmental changes occurring in mouse hematopoiesis are well documented, the specific changes in human HSPC ontogeny occurring during prenatal development and postnatal aging from newborn, through childhood, and into adulthood are completely unknown. We hypothesized that temporal changes in human hematopoiesis are mediated by age-specific, occasionally transient, HSPC states and that mechanisms of HSPC lineage commitment change over time in order to meet the changing physiologic demands of the developing and aging human.