Genes expected to be absent, or expressed at a notably low level, in these cells, and whose absence supports the assignment of this cell annotation.
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Rationale
MYOCD (myocardin) is a key transcriptional co-activator that drives smooth muscle differentiation and contractile gene expression. MYH11, encoding smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, is a definitive marker of differentiated, contractile SMCs. Together, MYOCD and MYH11 reliably identify smooth muscle cell populations and distinguish them from pericytes and other mesenchymal or stromal cells.
