Overview
- Published in Nature Genetics, the study maps late first to early second trimester cardiogenesis using KTH-developed spatial transcriptomics integrated with single-cell data and imaging.
- The resource catalogs more than 70 cell types, highlighting unexpected diversity in valve and atrial septum lineages and a rich set of mesenchymal scaffolding cells.
- Researchers report a previously undescribed neuroendocrine chromaffin population that produces adrenaline, likely unique to humans, with potential roles in fetal hypoxia response and a possible cellular origin of rare cardiac pheochromocytomas.
- The atlas details the wiring of the conduction system, including the sinoatrial node and Purkinje fibers, and traces early nerve ingrowth with noradrenaline and acetylcholine influences.
- An interactive online tool makes the data broadly accessible, with authors noting limitations in the developmental window studied, cohort size, and the need for expanded multiomics validation.