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In Vivo Study of Human Endothelial-Pericyte Interaction Using the Matrix Gel Plug Assay in Mouse
Published on: December 19, 2016
Endothelial/pericyte interactions
Annika Armulik1, Alexandra Abramsson, Christer Betsholtz
1Division of Matrix Biology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
Pericytes and endothelial cells are crucial for blood vessel health. Their interactions regulate vascular development and function, and failures contribute to cardiovascular defects and diseases like diabetic retinopathy.
Area of Science:
- Vascular Biology
- Cellular Interactions
- Cardiovascular Science
Background:
- Endothelial cells and mural cells (pericytes, vascular smooth muscle cells) interactions are central to vascular regulation.
- Failures in these cell-cell interactions cause severe cardiovascular defects and are implicated in human diseases like tumor angiogenesis and diabetic microangiopathy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on pericyte identity, characteristics, diversity, ontogeny, and plasticity.
- To focus on recent advancements in understanding intercellular communication between endothelial and mural cells.
- To highlight the role of pericytes in specific pathological conditions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent scientific publications.
- Focus on key signaling pathways: TGF-β, angiopoietins, PDGF, S1P, and Notch.
- Analysis of data related to pericyte involvement in disease models.
Main Results:
- Pericytes are diverse cells with significant plasticity.
- Intercellular communication pathways involving specific growth factors and ligands are critical for vascular homeostasis.
- Pericytes play significant roles in tumor angiogenesis, diabetic retinopathy, and hereditary lymphedema.
Conclusions:
- Understanding pericyte biology and their interactions with endothelial cells is vital for addressing vascular diseases.
- Targeting these interactions offers potential therapeutic strategies for conditions like cancer and diabetes.
- Further research into pericyte plasticity and signaling is warranted.
Abstract:
Interactions between endothelial cells and mural cells (pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells) in the blood vessel wall have recently come into focus as central processes in the regulation of vascular formation, stabilization, remodeling, and function. Failure of the interactions between the 2 cell types, as seen in numerous genetic mouse models, results in severe and often lethal cardiovascular defects. Abnormal interactions between the 2 cell types are also implicated in a number of human pathological conditions, including tumor angiogenesis, diabetic microangiopathy, ectopic tissue calcification, and stroke and dementia syndrome CADASIL. In the present review, we summarize current knowledge concerning the identity, characteristics, diversity, ontogeny, and plasticity of pericytes. We focus on the advancement in recent years of the understanding of intercellular communication between endothelial and mural cells with a focus on transforming growth factor beta, angiopoietins, platelet-derived growth factor, spingosine-1-phosphate, and Notch ligands and their respective receptors. We finally highlight recent important data contributing to the understanding of the role of pericytes in tumor angiogenesis, diabetic retinopathy, and hereditary lymphedema.
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