supplement files for ‘Dysfunction and Pathological Origins of Lymphatic Endothelial Cells in Atherosclerosis Revealed by Single-Cell Transcriptomics’

Our study leverages single-cell RNA sequencing to deconstruct the heterogeneity and dynamic functional changes of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) during the progression of atherosclerosis. A key mechanistic insight is the discovery of a disease-specific transdifferentiation path from fibroblasts to LECs, a finding that reveals a previously unknown source of lymphatic endothelium in the pathological context. Furthermore, we detail how LECs undergo functional reprogramming, shifting from immune tolerance to pro-inflammatory activation and concurrently losing their lipid-clearing capacity, thereby contributing to disease pathogenesis.