Single-cell transcriptomics identifies CD44 as a marker and regulator of endothelial to haematopoietic transition.

The endothelial to haematopoietic transition (EHT) is the process whereby haemogenic endothelium differentiates into haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The intermediary steps of this process are unclear, in particular the identity of endothelial cells that give rise to HSPCs is unknown. Using single-cell transcriptome analysis and antibody screening, we identify CD44 as a marker of EHT enabling us to isolate robustly the different stages of EHT in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region. This allows us to provide a detailed phenotypical and transcriptional profile of CD44-positive arterial endothelial cells from which HSPCs emerge. They are characterized with high expression of genes related to Notch signalling, TGFbeta/BMP antagonists, a downregulation of genes related to glycolysis and the TCA cycle, and a lower rate of cell cycle. Moreover, we demonstrate that by inhibiting the interaction between CD44 and its ligand hyaluronan, we can block EHT, identifying an additional regulator of HSPC development

Single-cell transcriptomics identifies CD44 as a marker and regulator of endothelial to haematopoietic transition

The endothelial to haematopoietic transition (EHT) is the process whereby haemogenic endothelium differentiates into haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The intermediary steps of this process are unclear, in particular the identity of endothelial cells that give rise to HSPCs is unknown. Using single-cell transcriptome analysis and antibody screening we identified CD44 as a new marker of EHT enabling us to isolate robustly the different stages of EHT in the aorta gonad mesonephros (AGM) region. This allowed us to provide a very detailed phenotypical and transcriptional profile for haemogenic endothelial cells, characterising them with high expression of genes related to Notch signalling, TGFbeta/BMP antagonists (Smad6, Smad7 and Bmper) and a downregulation of genes related to glycolysis and the TCA cycle. Moreover, we demonstrated that by inhibiting the interaction between CD44 and its ligand hyaluronan we could block EHT, identifying a new regulator of HSPC development

Digitalization of Technology for Expert Project Management of The School Environment Progression

The article presents the issues of school environment expertise and discusses the possibilities and prospects of using digital tooling for its assessment in mass educational practice and scientific research. The proposed method of vector modeling of the environment of personality development allows determining the activity of the individual in mastering educational resources in various types of environments. This digital tooling allows school management teams and organizational consultants to conduct management and pedagogical analysis of the current status and complementarity of various system components of school environments with each other, as well as with the school’s mission, and implement their managerial and vocational design; to develop programs for the progression of school organizations based on environment methodology using expert project management technology; to carry out organizational and pedagogical consulting of schools taking into account the “built-in” nature of environments of various levels (the environment of the lesson, class, club, school, and educational complex)

Peptidomics dataset: Blood plasma and serum samples of healthy donors fractionated on a set of chromatography sorbents

Blood as connective tissue potentially contains evidence of all processes occurring within the organism, at least in trace amounts (Petricoin et al., 2006) [1]. Because of their small size, peptides penetrate cell membranes and epithelial barriers more freely than proteins. Among the peptides found in blood, there are both fragments of proteins secreted by various tissues and performing their function in plasma and receptor ligands: hormones, cytokines and mediators of cellular response (Anderson et al., 2002) [2]. In addition, in minor amounts, there are peptide disease markers (for example, oncomarkers) and even foreign peptides related to pathogenic organisms and infection agents. To propose an approach for detailed peptidome characterization, we carried out an LC–MS/MS analysis of blood serum and plasma samples taken from 20 healthy donors on a TripleTOF 5600+ mass-spectrometer. We prepared samples based on our previously developed method of peptide desorption from the surface of abundant blood plasma proteins followed by standard chromatographic steps (Ziganshin et al., 2011) [3]. The mass-spectrometry peptidomics data presented in this article have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium (Deutsch et al., 2017) [4] via the PRIDE partner repository with the dataset identifier PXD008141 and 10.6019/PXD008141

Single-cell transcriptomics identifies CD44 as a marker and regulator of endothelial to haematopoietic transition.

The endothelial to haematopoietic transition (EHT) is the process whereby haemogenic endothelium differentiates into haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The intermediary steps of this process are unclear, in particular the identity of endothelial cells that give rise to HSPCs is unknown. Using single-cell transcriptome analysis and antibody screening, we identify CD44 as a marker of EHT enabling us to isolate robustly the different stages of EHT in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region. This allows us to provide a detailed phenotypical and transcriptional profile of CD44-positive arterial endothelial cells from which HSPCs emerge. They are characterized with high expression of genes related to Notch signalling, TGFbeta/BMP antagonists, a downregulation of genes related to glycolysis and the TCA cycle, and a lower rate of cell cycle. Moreover, we demonstrate that by inhibiting the interaction between CD44 and its ligand hyaluronan, we can block EHT, identifying an additional regulator of HSPC development

Multilayer omics analysis reveals a non-classical retinoic acid signaling axis that regulates hematopoietic stem cell identity

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) rely on complex regulatory networks to preserve stemness. Due to the scarcity of HSCs, technical challenges have limited our insights into the interplay between metabolites, transcription, and the epigenome. In this study, we generated low-input metabolomics, transcriptomics, chromatin accessibility, and chromatin immunoprecipitation data , revealing distinct metabolic hubs that are enriched in HSCs and their downstream multipotent progenitors. Mechanistically, we uncover a non-classical retinoic acid (RA) signaling axis that regulates HSC function. We show that HSCs rely on Cyp26b1, an enzyme conventionally considered to limit RA effects in the cell. In contrast to the traditional view, we demonstrate that Cyp26b1 is indispensable for production of the active metabolite 4-oxo-RA. Further, RA receptor beta (Rarb) is required for complete transmission of 4-oxo-RA-mediated signaling to maintain stem cells. Our findings emphasize that a single metabolite controls stem cell fate by instructing epigenetic and transcriptional attributes

Does singing enhance cooperation more than speaking does? A global experimental Stage 1 Registered Report

The evolution of music, language, and cooperation have been debated since before Darwin. The social bonding hypothesis proposes that these phenomena may be interlinked: musicality may have facilitated the evolution of group cooperation beyond the possibilities of spoken language. Although dozens of experimental studies have shown that synchronised rhythms can promote cooperation, it is unclear whether synchronous singing enhances cooperation relative to spoken language, particularly across diverse societies that differ in their musical/linguistic rhythms and social organisation. Here, we propose a Registered Report to test this hypothesis through a global experiment in diverse languages aiming to collect data from 1500 participants across 50 sites. The social bonding hypothesis predicts that cooperation will increase more after synchronous singing than after spoken (sequential) conversation or (simultaneous) recitation, while alternative hypotheses predict that song will not increase cooperation relative to speech. Regardless of outcome, these results will provide an unprecedented understanding of cross-cultural relationships between music, language, and cooperation