A cell atlas of the human outflow tract of the heart and its adult derivatives
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a major birth defect affecting ~1% of new born babies. The OFT carries blood away from the heart into the great arteries. Defects specifically affecting the outflow tract (OFT) of the heart represent a third of all CHD cases. In humans the formation and remodelling of the OFT is a relatively rapid process, occurring over a 3-week period (Carnegie Stage (CS)13 – CS22). The morphological changes underlying OFT formation are orchestrated by two main cell lineages, second heart field (SHF)-derived myocardium and endothelium, and neural crest cells (NCC). Here, we present comprehensive transcriptomic data on the developing OFT at two distinct timepoint (embryonic and fetal) and its adult derivatives, providing a large reference framework of OFT cell repertoires and their gene expression profiles.