A cell atlas of the human outflow tract of the heart

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Defects affecting the outflow tract (OFT) of the heart represent a third of all congenital heart disease cases. They often result in abnormal blood circulation and/or oxygenation in the neonate and require surgical correction shortly after birth. Correct development and function of the OFT depend on the interaction between different cell types. These cell types contain the same genetic instructions but produce different proteins because they express different genes. We will use new technologies, which will allow us to characterize single-cell expressed genes, to deconstruct the human OFT tissue into its constituent cell types and trace the diverse origins of the cells during embryonic development. Collectively, these results will provide new insight into how healthy and diseased cell states are established, with knock-on implications in disease diagnosis and personalized and regenerative medicine.