Identification and prospective isolation of a mesothelial precursor lineage giving rise to smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts for mammalian internal organs, and their vasculature

Fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells (FSMCs) are principal cell types of connective and adventitial tissues that participate in the development, physiology and pathology of internal organs, with incompletely defined cellular origins. Here, we identify and prospectively isolate from the mesothelium a mouse cell lineage that is committed to FSMCs. The mesothelium is an epithelial monolayer covering the vertebrate thoracic and abdominal cavities and...