A novel lymphoid-primed progenitor marked by Dach1 downregulation identified with single cell multi-omics

A classical view of blood cell development is that multipotent haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) become lineage-restricted at defined stages. The Lin–c-kit+Sca1+Flt3+ stage, termed lymphoid-primed multipotent progenitors (LMPPs), have lost megakaryocyte and erythroid potential but are heterogeneous in their fate. Through single cell RNA-sequencing, we identify heterogeneous expression of Dach1 and associated genes in this fraction where it co-expressed with myeloid/stem genes but inversely correlated with lymphoid genes. Through generation of Dach1-GFP reporter mice, we identify a transcriptionally and functionally unique Dach1– subpopulation within LMPPs with lymphoid potential but devoid of myeloid potential. We term these 'lymphoid-primed progenitors', or LPPs. These findings define the earliest branch point of lymphoid development in haematopoiesis and a means for their prospective isolation. Overall design: Mouse HSPCs were isolated from bone marrow and sorted into 384 PCR plate, with library generated using the CEL-seq2 protocol.