Organ homeostasis is orchestrated by time- and spatially restricted cell proliferation. Studies identifying cells with superior proliferative capacities often rely on the lineage tracing of a subset of cell populations, which introduces a potential selective bias. In this work, we developed a genetic system [proliferation tracer (ProTracer)] by incorporating dual recombinases to seamlessly record the proliferation events of entire cell populations over time in multiple organs. In the mouse liver, ProTracer revealed more hepatocyte proliferation in distinct zones during liver homeostasis, injury repair, and regrowth. Clonal analysis showed that most of the hepatocytes labeled by ProTracer had undergone cell division. By genetically recording proliferation events of entire cell populations, ProTracer enables the unbiased detection of specific cellular compartments with enhanced regenerative capacities.

器官稳态是由时间和空间限制的细胞增殖精心策划的。鉴定具有卓越增殖能力的细胞的研究通常依赖于对细胞群子集的谱系追踪，这会引入潜在的选择性偏差。在这项工作中，我们开发了一种遗传系统 [增殖示踪剂 (ProTracer)]，通过结合双重组酶来无缝记录多个器官中整个细胞群随时间的增殖事件。在小鼠肝脏中，ProTracer 显示在肝脏稳态、损伤修复和再生过程中不同区域的肝细胞增殖更多。克隆分析表明，ProTracer 标记的大部分肝细胞都发生了细胞分裂。通过基因记录整个细胞群的增殖事件，