Functional and Molecular Analysis of Hematopoietic Progenitors Derived From the Aorta-Gonad-Mesonephros Region of the Mouse Embryo

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Abstract
Herein, we show that CD34, c-kit double-positive (CD34+c-kit+) cells from the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region of the developing mouse are multipotent in vitro and can undergo both B-lymphoid and multimyeloid differentiation. Molecular analysis of individual CD34+c-kit+ cells by single-cell reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) shows coactivation of erythroid (β-globin) and myeloid (myeloperoxidase [MPO]) but not lymphoid-affiliated (CD3, Thy-1, and λ5) genes. Additionally, most cells coexpress the stem cell–associated transcriptional regulators AML-1, PU.1, GATA-2 and Lmo2, as well as the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptor (G-CSF-R). These results show that the CD34+c-kit+ population from the AGM represents a highly enriched source of multipotent hematopoietic cells, and suggest that limited coactivation of distinct lineage-affiliated genes is an early event in the generation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells during ontogeny.