Hematopoietic Stem Cells Develop in the Absence of Endothelial Cadherin 5 Expression

Rare endothelial cells in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) transition into hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) during embryonic development. Lineage tracing experiments indicate that HSCs emerge from Cadherin 5 (Cdh5, VE-cadherin)⁺ endothelial precursors, and isolated populations of Cdh5⁺ cells from mouse embryos and embryonic stem (ES) cells can be differentiated into hematopoietic cells. Cdh5 has also been widely implicated as a marker of AGM-derived hemogenic endothelial cells. Since Cdh5^-/- mice embryos die before the first HSCs emerge, it is unknown if Cdh5 has a direct role in HSC emergence. Our previous genetic screen yielded malbec (mlb^bw306), a zebrafish mutant for cdh5, with normal embryonic and definitive blood. Utilizing time-lapse imaging, parabiotic surgical pairing of zebrafish embryos, and blastula transplantation assays, we show that HSCs emerge, migrate, engraft, and differentiate in the absence of cdh5 expression. By tracing Cdh5^-/-GFP^+/+ cells in chimeric mice, we demonstrated that Cdh5^-/- GFP^+/+ HSCs emerging from E10.5 and E11.5 AGM or derived from E13.5 fetal liver not only differentiate into hematopoietic colonies but also engraft and reconstitute multi-lineage adult blood. These data establish that Cdh5, a marker of hemogenic endothelium in the AGM, is dispensable for the transition of hemogenic endothelium to HSCs.