Fig. 5: Fgf7 knockout leads to the emergence of the Lox⁺Uts2r⁺ subcluster in Achilles tendon tissues.

A A Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) plot is presented, displaying 31,756 cells divided into 17 distinct subpopulations. The circle subpopulation includes subgroups 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, which exhibit tendon characteristics. B UMAP plot displaying 24,583 cells from the Achilles tendon subpopulations, further divided into 9 distinct subclusters. C Representative bar plots showing the rate of cells belonging to each subcluster in Achilles tendon tissues from 8-week wildtype (WT) and 8-week Fgf7^−/− mice. D UMAP plots showing the distribution of the 9 subclusters from 8-week Fgf7^−/− and 8-week wildtype mice Achilles tendon samples. E UMAP plots illustrating the expression of matrix assembly marker genes Lox, Uts2r, Acta2 and Mfap4. F, G Confocal fluorescence imaging and showing the co-expression of Lox and Uts2r in Achilles tendon tissues from 8-week Fgf7^−/− and wildtype mice, with corresponding statistical analysis and representative HE-stained images (n = 4 independent experiments, bars represent mean ± SD; ***p < 0.001, two-tailed Student’s t test). Scale bars, 100 μm. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.