Cardiac progenitor cells undergo a tightly regulated process of differentiation to form the various cell types that make up the heart. Initially, these progenitor cells express early cardiac markers such as Nkx2.5 and GATA4. As differentiation proceeds, these cells begin to express more specific markers like Mef2c and Tbx5, which are indicative of their commitment to the cardiac lineage. Eventually, these cells differentiate into fully functional cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells.
