Electroconductive patch promotes heart repair by directing epicardial cells toward endothelial fate.

Cardiac patches tuned to native myocardial electroconductivity (10 -4 -10 -3 S/cm) in mice after MI promote proliferation and endothelial differentiation of WT1+ EPDCs, rescuing cardiac function.

• Why it matters: It remains unclear whether EPDCs can become endothelial cells after MI, and the heart’s electrical dependence suggests conduction restoration might unlock this differentiation potential.
• What they did: In mice, electroconductive patches with tunable conductivity were combined with genetic fate-mapping and single-cell transcriptomics to track WT1+ EPDCs and identify a transitional WT1+ TRPC3+ CD93+ state.
• The result: Electroconductive patches drove WT1+ EPDCs into an endothelial program via TRPC3-Ca2+ signaling; TRPC3 inhibition blocked differentiation and reduced infarct vascularization, enabling functional vessel integration.