Transcriptomic Analysis of Potency Associated Genes in Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation is a potentially curative treatment for malignant and non-malignant hematologic disorders, wherein healthy hematopoietic stem (HSC) and progenitor cells (HSCs) reconstitute a functional blood and immune system following ablation of diseased cells. Functionally potent HSCs/HPCs from bone marrow, mobilized peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood drive recovery of the hematopoietic system following transplantation. Improving initial characterization of the engraftment potential of donor grafts and recovery time will lead to improved patient outcomes, particularly in the case of umbilical cord blood transplantation, which is limited by low total numbers of cells. However, we still lack a complete understanding of the molecular programs that regulate potency, which is the ability of cells to home to and engraft in a hematopoietic niche, then self-renew and differentiate driving multi-lineage repopulation. Here, we use transcriptomic approaches to elucidate gene programs associated with hematopoietic cell potency in CD34+ cells derived from umbilical cord blood, which are enriched for HSCs/HPCs. We compare the transcriptomes of immunophenotypically defined HSCs/HPCs and correlate HSC transcriptomes with engraftment outcomes.