Human Adipose Tissue Atlas v1.0 — Abdominal Visceral WAT

Capillary ECs

Ontology Term: capillary endothelial cellCL:0002144
Synonyms Terms that have the same, or nearly the same, meaning as the selected cell type.: unknown
Category Class of which the cell type is a subclass.: endothelial cellCL:0000115
Ontology Assessment Disagreements with any aspect of the Cell Ontology.: —
Marker Gene Evidence Gene markers used by researcher to assign this cell annotation.: PECAM1, MECOM, CDH5, ENPEP, BTNL9, RBP7, CA4
Canonical Marker Genes: PECAM1, MECOM, CDH5, ENPEP, BTNL9, RBP7, CA4
Negative Marker Genes 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.: —
Rationale: PECAM1 (CD31) and CDH5 (VE-cadherin) are pan-endothelial markers essential for cell-cell adhesion and vascular integrity, present across all endothelial subtypes. MECOM and ENPEP further confirm endothelial identity. BTNL9, RBP7, and CA4 are enriched in capillary endothelial cells specifically, with CA4 (carbonic anhydrase 4) being a well-established capillary EC marker in adipose tissue. Together these markers identify capillary ECs and distinguish them from arterial, venous, and lymphatic endothelial subtypes.
Rationale DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01296-9