A protein-transcriptome atlas of haematopoiesis across the human life span

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The cell represents a fundamental unit of biology, as all of our organs are composed of cells, where cells with different specialized functions combine to provide overall functionality. Specialization of cells is perhaps best understood in the blood system, where red blood cells for example are dedicated to carrying oxygen round the body, while a myriad of specialized immune cells help to fight infections. A better understanding of the molecular features that characterize individual cells is not only essential for us to gain a better understanding of how the human body functions normally, but also to be able to design better drugs that can reverse the abnormal behaviour of cells, which causes many diseases including blood cancers and immune disorders.Recent technological innovations have made it possible to map very comprehensively the activity of all genes within single cells, at a scale of thousands of cells at the same time. We propose to utilize one of the latest protocols in this field to map both messenger RNA as well as protein levels, and thus obtain especially detailed insights into the molecular make up of over 550,000 individual blood and immune cells across the human lifespan. Through integration with the wider Human Cell Atlas Initiative, our datasets will deliver an important reference, that will serve as a platform for future studies aiming to reveal the molecular alterations that cause the misbehaviour of blood cells in a broad range of disorders including blood cancers and immune diseases.