Early differentiation of committed erythroid cells defined by miR-144/451 expression

Before committing to an erythroid cell lineage, hematopoietic stem cells differentiate along a myeloid cell pathway to generate megakaryocyte-erythroid biopotential progenitor cells in bone marrow. Recent studies suggest that erythroid progenitors (EryPs) could be generated at the level of common myeloid progenitors (CMPs). However, due to a lack of suitable markers, little is known about the early differentiation of these committed EryP cells during CMP development. Herein, using miR-144/451-eGFP knock-in mice, we found that early differentiation of committed erythroid cells could be defined by miR-144/451 expression within CMPs. Single-cell RNA sequencing showed that miR-144/451+ progenitors show obvious differentiation characteristics of erythroid lineage cells and diverge from megakaryocyte and other myeloid cell lineages. These progenitors exclusively give rise to erythroid cells, both in vitro and in vivo, and the commitment to an erythroid cell lineage is accompanied by loss of CD53 expression. Our findings will facilitate further understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing erythroid development and support the identification of therapeutic targets for diseases related to erythrocyte development.