SET domain containing 2 promotes megakaryocyte polyploidization and platelet generation through methylation of α-tubulin.

Background: Megakaryocytes (MKs) are polyploid cells responsible for producing ∼10 platelets daily in humans. Unraveling the mechanisms regulating megakaryopoiesis holds the promise for the production of clinical-grade platelets from stem cells, overcoming significant current limitations in platelet transfusion medicine. Previous work identified that loss of the epigenetic regulator SET domain containing 2 (SETD2) was associated with an increased platelet count in mice.

Single-cell transcriptomics reveals multiple chemoresistant properties in leukemic stem and progenitor cells in pediatric AML.

Background: Cancer patients can achieve dramatic responses to chemotherapy yet retain resistant tumor cells, which ultimately results in relapse. Although xenograft model studies have identified several cellular and molecular features that are associated with chemoresistance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), to what extent AML patients exhibit these properties remains largely unknown.

Results: We apply single-cell RNA sequencing to paired pre- and post-chemotherapy whole bone marrow samples obtained from 13 pediatric AML patients who had achieved disease remission, and distinguish AML clusters from normal cells based on their unique transcriptomic profiles.