Endothelial Mekk3 alters fates of embryonic arterial endothelial cells. Endothelial Mekk3 alters fates of embryonic arterial endothelial cells

To examine how endothelial Mekk3 affects the cell and molecular transitions between endothelial (E), hemogenic endothelial (HE), and intra-aortic hematopoietic clusters (IAHC) cells, we profiled ~6,700 cells from wildtype embryos and ~3,200 cells from endothelial Mekk3 deleted embryos by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq). The cells were sorted from the caudal arteries (dorsal aorta, umbilical, vitelline arteries) of embryonic day (E) 9.5 mouse embryos. We identified a developmental alteration in endothelial to hematopoietic transition (EHT) and production of HE and IAHC in endothelial Mekk3 deleted embryos. Overall design: Single cell RNA-Seq profiles of cells involved in endothelial to hematopoietic transition (EHT) from wildtype and endothelial Mekk3 deleted mouse embryos at embryonic day 9.5.

为探究内皮细胞（endothelial, E）中的丝裂原活化蛋白激酶激酶3（Mekk3）如何影响内皮细胞、生血内皮细胞（hemogenic endothelial, HE）以及主动脉内造血簇（intra-aortic hematopoietic clusters, IAHC）之间的细胞与分子转变过程，我们通过单细胞RNA测序（single-cell RNA sequencing, scRNA-Seq）技术，分别对野生型小鼠胚胎的约6700个细胞，以及内皮细胞特异性Mekk3敲除胚胎的约3200个细胞完成了转录组表征分析。上述细胞均分选自胚胎第9.5天（E 9.5）小鼠胚胎的尾动脉，包括背主动脉、脐动脉与卵黄动脉。我们发现，在内皮细胞特异性Mekk3敲除胚胎中，内皮向造血转变（endothelial to hematopoietic transition, EHT）过程出现发育异常，且生血内皮细胞与主动脉内造血簇的生成受到显著影响。
总体实验设计：本研究针对胚胎第9.5天的野生型与内皮细胞特异性Mekk3敲除小鼠胚胎中参与内皮向造血转变（EHT）的细胞，开展了单细胞RNA测序转录组分析。