Dual Genetic Lineage Tracing Reveals Capillary to Artery Formation in the Adult Heart

We generated a new genetic tracing system enabling more efficient and sensitive detection of capillary-to-artery formation in the mouse heart. Our results showed that at least a few coronary arteries in the border region of the MI treated hearts were formed from pre-existing Apln-positive capillaries. Single-cell transcriptomics analyses comfirmed that there is a unique capillary endothelial subpopulaition expressing Apln in sham and 7-days post myocardial infarction respectively.