Developmental regulation of sialylated Lewis X expression on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells

Whole transcriptome sequencing was applied to hematopoietic and progenitor cell subpopulations isolated from human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). These cells had undergone a glycosyltransferase-based glycoanalytic technique ("GAP analysis") to enable precise identification of sialylated Lewis X (sLeX)-precursor glycans among developmentally and functionally defined subsets of primary human CD34-positive hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Transcriptomic profiling of sorted HSPC subpopulations was then performed to define the biosynthetic mechanisms governing cell surface sLeX expression and the unique glycosignature of the human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC). In vivo xenotransplantation studies were utilized for functional validation of transcriptomic and glycomic developmental profiles.