We then applied scRNA-seq to this enriched population, combined with in silico analysis and comparison to other single-cell transcriptomic data sets of purified HE and pre-HSC/HSC22,26,30,31, to study the transcriptional changes associated with HSC formation from HE in the AGM niche at single-cell resolution, with a specific focus on genes encoding cell surface receptors and downstream signaling molecules. Here, CD177 is linked to hereditary elliptocytosis.