Figure 5. The inducible neuron‐glial antigen 2 (NG2) tamoxifen‐inducible Cre recombinase (CreER^TM) line specifically labels myocardial pericytes.

A, The schematic cartoon shows the breeding scheme used to develop NG2^iCre/+; Rosa26^tdTomato mice. NG2CreER^TM mice were crossed with Rosa26^tdTomato animals and the resultant NG2^iCre/+;R26^tdTomato mice were injected with tamoxifen at 3 months of age. B and C, NG2+ pericytes identified using the lineage tracing approach are closely associated with CD31+ endothelial cells. Quantitative analysis (n=6) shows the density of NG2‐derived cells in all cardiac chambers (C). Scalebar=80 μm. Data are expressed as mean±SE. Statistical comparison was performed using nonparametric ANOVA (Kruskal‐Wallis, P=not significant). LA indicates left atrium; LV, left ventricle; RA, right atrium; Rosa, reverse orientation splice acceptor; RV, right ventricle; and tdTom, tandem dimer Tomato.