Mapping the human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell hierarchy with single cell proteomics!

Holy cow. I think it might be time to stop saying things like "the emerging field of single cell proteomics". I think it's emerged and is the tasty form of the cicada (where are those things, btw? I thought the US was going to be buried in billions of them this summer...I've seen nothing but the evil spotted lanternfly).

This study might be a new high water mark for more than a few reasons. 

The first is that this is just a really smart model to apply the technology to, right? Take the stem cells and force them to differentiate out. The single cell proteomics (SCP)  method in question appears to be Reticle, which makes sense for 2,500 single cells.  

The second is - wow - the integration of these data is just top notch. I've tried doing this as well and people have let me publish the results - to see it done THIS well, is just fantastic. 

Third, and most important, is that they actually learned something from this IN VIVO analysis of these cells. They took bone marrow cells from 6 patients (!!) and cleverly sorted their control (stem cell/progenitors? not my field and just trying to follow along) as well as randomly sorted cells that have a differentiator marker on the cell surface. (FACs machine, just take anything within this great big gate and randomly deposit them, I don't care what size they are or how they autofluoresce over here, just catch them arbitrarily and drop them in wells).

Really really super cool study and something that should get any immunologist interested in what you can do with our technology. Though.....I'd personally be quick to warn them that integrating the data this well might take a team like this who has been steadily improving study after study over the last 4+ years.