Transcriptional control of Sulf1 by WT1 primes epicardial signalling and fate by modifying extracellular heparan sulfate status [scRNA-Seq]

Despite their decisive influence over the signalling that underlies cardiac morphogenesis, the expression of core HSPGs and the enzymes that give rise to distinct spatiotemporal sulfation patterning have not been well documented in the developing heart. In the present study, we systematically profiled 6-O-endosulfatases and target HSPGs expression in the embryonic mouse heart. We found that HSPGs are dynamically expressed, with cell-type specific expression, and changing tissue composition contributing to HSPG diversity in the developing embryonic heart. We identified cell type-specific expression patterns for Sulf1 and Sulf2, that changed over the course of development, unrelated to lineage or embryonic origin. We reveal Sulf1 as the major 6-O-endosulfatase expressed in the epicardium.