participates in expresses expresses proliferative fibrochondrocyte 2025-11-27T12:48:39Z A fibrochondrocyte located in fibrocartilage that exhibits active proliferation capacity and is in S phase of the cell cycle. It functions as a progenitor cell positioned at the root of developmental trajectories alongside fibrochondrocyte progenitors (FCP), with the capacity to diverge toward one of two developmental fates: (1) fibrochondrocytes and prehypertrophic chondrocytes, or (2) regulatory chondrocytes and prehypertrophic chondrocytes. It is characterised by co-expression of COL1A1, the growth factors FGF7 and CTGF, and the cell-cycle genes STMN1, KIAA0101, and MCM3 in humans. During early progenitor differentiation, FGF7 and COL1A1 expression increases and then declines as the cell commits to terminal fates. GitHub Copilot Lineage relationships are inferred from single-cell RNA-seq trajectories and validated through experimental approaches, including FACS isolation, functional differentiation assays, and in vivo developmental gene expression analysis. ProFC fibrochondrocyte cell cycle process fibroblast growth factor 7