Single-Cell RNA-Seq Identifies Dynamic Cardiac Transition Program from ADCs Induced by Leukemia Inhibitory Factor

Adipose-derived cells (ADCs) from white adipose tissue are promising stem cell candidates because of their large regenerative reserves and the potential for cardiac regeneration. However, given the heterogeneity of ADC and its unsolved mechanisms of cardiac acquisition, ADC-cardiac transition efficiency remains low. In this study, we explored the heterogeneity of ADCs and the cellular kinetics of 39,432 single-cell transcriptomes along the leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF)-induced ADC-cardiac transition. We identified distinct ADC subpopulations that reacted differentially to LIF when entering the cardiomyogenic program, further demonstrating that ADC-myogenesis is time-dependent and initiates from transient changes in nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling. At later stages, pseudotime analysis of ADCs navigated a trajectory with 2 branches corresponding to activated myofibroblast or cardiomyocyte-like cells. Our findings offer a high-resolution dissection of ADC heterogeneity and cell fate during ADC-cardiac transition, thus providing new insights into potential cardiac stem cells.