To elucidate the transcriptional landscape that regulates human lymphoid commitment during postnatal life, we used RNA sequencing to assemble the long non-coding transcriptome across human bone marrow and thymic progenitors spanning the earliest stages of B and T lymphoid specification. Over 3000 novel long non-coding RNA genes (lncRNAs) were revealed through the analysis of these rare populations. Lymphoid commitment was characterized by lncRNA expression patterns that were highly stage-specific and more lineage-specific than protein coding patterns. Protein-coding genes co-expressed with neighboring lncRNA genes were enriched for ontologies related to lymphoid differentiation. The exquisite cell-type specificity of global lncRNA expression patterns independently revealed new developmental relationships between the earliest progenitors in the human bone marrow and thymus.

Key Points Perivascular cells maintain HSPCs ex vivo.

The expression of CD10 has long been used to define human lymphoid commitment. We report a unique lymphoid-primed population in human bone marrow that was generated from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) before the onset of CD10 expression and B cell commitment. This subset was identified by high expression of the homing molecule L-selectin (CD62L). CD10−CD62Lhi progenitors possessed full lymphoid and monocytic potential, but lacked erythroid potential. Gene expression profiling placed the CD10−CD62Lhi population at an intermediate stage of differentiation between HSCs and lineage-negative (Lin−) CD34+CD10+ progenitors. L-selectin was expressed on immature thymocytes and its ligands were expressed at the cortico-medullary junction, suggesting a possible role in thymic homing. These studies identify the earliest stage of lymphoid priming in human bone marrow.