Haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) give rise to all blood lineages that support the entire lifespan of vertebrates1. After HSPCs emerge from endothelial cells within the developing dorsal aorta, homing allows the nascent cells to anchor in their niches for further expansion and differentiation2–5. Unique niche microenvironments, composed of various blood vessels as units of microcirculation and other niche components such as stromal cells, regulate this process6–9. However, the detailed architecture of the microenvironment and the mechanism for the regulation of HSPC homing remain unclear. Here, using advanced live imaging and a cell-labelling system, we perform high-resolution analyses of the HSPC homing in caudal haematopoietic tissue of zebrafish (equivalent to the fetal liver in mammals), and reveal the role of the vascular architecture in the regulation of HSPC retention. We identify a VCAM-1+ macrophage-like niche cell population that patrols the inner surface of the venous plexus, interacts with HSPCs in an ITGA4-dependent manner, and directs HSPC retention. These cells, named ‘usher cells’, together with caudal venous capillaries and plexus, define retention hotspots within the homing microenvironment. Thus, the study provides insights into the mechanism of HSPC homing and reveals the essential role of a VCAM-1+ macrophage population with patrolling behaviour in HSPC retention.

The current pandemic of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has affected more than 160 million of individuals and caused millions of deaths worldwide at least in part due to the unclarified pathophysiology of this disease. Therefore, identifying the underlying molecular mechanisms of COVID-19 is critical to overcome this pandemic. Metabolites mirror the disease progression of an individual by acquiring extensive insights into the pathophysiological significance during disease progression. We provide a comprehensive view of metabolic characterization of sera from COVID-19 patients at all stages using untargeted and targeted metabolomic analysis. As compared with the healthy controls, we observed different alteration patterns of circulating metabolites from the mild, severe and recovery stages, in both discovery cohort and validation cohort, which suggest that metabolic reprogramming of glucose metabolism and urea cycle are potential pathological mechanisms for COVID-19 progression. Our findings suggest that targeting glucose metabolism and urea cycle may be a viable approach to fight against COVID-19 at various stages along the disease course.