PW1+ cells give rise to cardiac adipocytes during development and myofibroblasts following injury

BACKGROUND: cells exhibit stem cell properties in the heart remains unclear. METHODS: cells subjected to differentiation assays. In vivo fate mapping was performed during postnatal development and after myocardial infarction (MI) induced by permanent coronary artery ligation. Single-cell RNA sequencing data from adult mouse hearts were reanalyzed to characterize Pw1 expression across cardiac cell types. RESULTS: cells preferentially expanded and contributed to the myofibroblast population within the infarcted region. CONCLUSION: cells serve as a progenitor population capable of generating cardiac adipocytes during postnatal development and contributing to myofibroblast formation after MI. These findings offer new insights into cardiac adipogenesis and fibrogenesis, providing a potential foundation for future therapies aimed at mitigating pathological adipose accumulation and fibrosis in the heart.