Quantitative molecular cartography of emergency myelopoiesis reveals conserved modules of hematopoietic activation.

Abstract

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) respond to infections, inflammation, and regenerative challenges using emergency myelopoiesis (EM) pathways to amplify myeloid cell production. However, it remains unclear how various EM inducers regulate HSPCs using shared or distinct molecular mechanisms. Here, we generate a comprehensive and generalizable cell annotation method (HemaScribe) and a refined quantitative model of hematopoietic differentiation (HemaScape) using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of murine HSPCs, which we apply to a broad range of EM modalities. We uncover multiple strategies for enhancing myelopoiesis that act at different levels of the HSPC hierarchy and are associated with both unique and shared transcriptional response modules. In particular, we identify a myeloid progenitor-based EM activation module across diverse inflammatory challenges that is conserved in humans and informs outcomes in adult and pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Our work illuminates fundamental regulatory mechanisms in hematopoietic regeneration that have direct translational applications in disease contexts.