Material below summarizes the article Pericytes as Inducers of Rapid, Matrix Metalloproteinase-9-Dependent Capillary Damage during Ischemia, published on January 4, 2017, in JNeurosci and authored by Robert G. Underly, Manuel Levy, David A. Hartmann, Roger I. Grant, Ashley N. Watson, and Andy Y. Shih.
Pericytes are cells with elaborate processes that adorn capillaries throughout the brain.
They are a key component of the neurovascular unit (NVU) and control numerous vascular functions, including the development and maintenance of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Their continuous signaling with endothelial cells regulates formation of normal tight junctions.
A deficiency in the number of pericytes, induced by the genetic disruption of platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) signaling with its β-receptor, results in a malformed BBB, plasma leakage, microaneurysms, and embryonic lethality.
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