Heterogeneity in early lymphoid compartments [LP]. Mus musculus

In order to understand the developmental trajectories of early lymphocyte differentiation it is crucial to identify linage-restricted progenitors. It has become clear that the classical early lymphoid progenitor compartments in the bone marrow are molecularly and functionally heterogeneous which warrants further investigation to refine the marker combinations used to isolate these progenitors. Herein, an initial antibody screen revealed extensive surface marker heterogeneity amongst early lymphoid progenitors. This heterogeneity was resolved using single cell gene expression assays and single cell in vitro differentiation assays, identifying marker combinations that isolate functionally distinct populations. In addition, surface markers that could be used alone or in combination with classical targets to capture specific stages of B-cell development were identified in the screen. The data provides a greater resolution of the complexity of the lymphoid progenitor compartment within the bone marrow than has been understood to date and provides novel tools for the further identification of cell populations in B-lineage development. Overall design: Investigation of the transcriptome in 3 different bone marrow LP compartments by RNASeq (2-5 replicates/cell type)