Fig. 3: Perturbed differentiation tendency of HSC/MPP in COVID-19 patients.

a Percentages of G1, S, and G2M phase for HSC/MPP population from HC and COVID-19 patients. b Enriched GO terms of up-regulated genes in the HSC/MPP population from COVID-19 patients. Three pathways were clustered into immune response-associated pathways, three were identified associated with virus response, two were related to apoptosis and autophagy, and five pathways participated in the processes of differentiation. c Heatmap showing the significant different expression patterns of IFN-stimulated genes in the HC, mild, and severe groups. d GSEA analysis of transcriptome comparisons in HSC/MPP shows that the KEGG pathway “Apoptosis” (Entry ID: hsa04210) was enriched in COVID-19 patients vs controls. e Proportion of Annexin V⁺ HSC in total HSC with flow cytometry. Results were compared among the HC, mild group, and severe group and two positive controls (PC). f Stemness signature scores of HSPCs from HC, mild, and severe patients projected onto 2c graph. Red color represents a higher stem score. g, h Gene pairwise Spearman correlation within the 90%–95% (HC) and 95%–100% (Mild group, Severe group) of the stem score. g The projection of corresponding cells onto the core model with corresponding percentile. h The heatmap of gene pairwise Spearman correlation. i RNA velocity analysis of HSPC cells among the HC, mild, and severe group. Upper panel projects the velocity field onto the UMAP plot of HSPC in the three groups. Lower panel shows the numbers and ratios of predicted differentiation endpoint of HSC/MPPs in the three groups.