Fig. 1.

Endothelial cells identity changes after myocardial infarction. Cardiac microvascular endothelial cells maintain a tissue dependent cell identity program at baseline level. Tissue damage leading to hypoxic signaling and increase of glycolytic metabolic pathways together with increased concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines lead to loss of cell identity and expression of a mesenchymal gene program. While this induction favors migratory and proliferative responses in endothelial cells after infarction, mesenchymal activation is a temporary and reversible mechanism