RNA-sequencing of primary mouse hematopoietic stem progenitors

Mechanisms of translational regulation are poorly understood in somatic stem cells. We used polysome profiling, RNA-sequencing, and proteomic approaches to examine translational regulation in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC)-enriched (LSK; Lin-Sca-1+c-Kit+) cells and committed myeloid progenitors (MP). Our studies show that polysomal RNA expression changes more robustly predict changes in protein expression than total RNA and that LSKs preferentially translate transcripts that support HSC maintenance. Collectively, our data reveal that translation is highly regulated during the earliest steps in normal hematopoiesis.