Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
Isolation and Purification of Murine Cardiac Pericytes
Published on: August 16, 2019
Focus on cardiac pericytes
Stephan Nees1, Dominik R Weiss, Gerd Juchem
1Department of Physiology, University of Munich (LMU), Schillerstr. 44, 80336, Munich, Germany. stephan.nees@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
Insights
The heart
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Vascular Physiology
- Cardiac Pathogenesis
Background:
- The myocardial microvasculature forms a critical barrier between blood and heart tissue.
- Pericytes, embedded in the extracellular matrix, are integral components of this barrier.
- This structure extends from capillaries to larger coronary vessels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the structural and functional roles of pericytes in myocardial vessels.
- To explore the implications of pericyte function in cardiac disease.
- To propose revised therapeutic strategies based on new pathogenetic models.
Main Methods:
- Histological analysis of myocardial microvessels.
- Investigation of pericyte localization and extracellular matrix interactions.
- Physiological assessment of solute transport across the vessel wall.
Main Results:
- Myocardial terminal vessels possess a tight endothelial-pericyte barrier.
- Pericytes are strategically located in both microvessels and the intima of larger coronary vessels.
- These pericytes exhibit crucial histological and physiological functions.
Conclusions:
- Pericytes are key players in myocardial vascular function and integrity.
- Understanding pericyte roles necessitates new models for heart disease pathogenesis.
- Current therapeutic approaches for cardiac conditions may require revision.
Abstract:
The wall of myocardial terminal vessels, consisting of a continuous endothelial tube with an adventitial coat of pericytes in their extracellular matrix, constitutes a remarkably tight barrier to solute transport between the blood and the parenchyma. This constructional principle of precapillary arterioles, capillaries and postcapillary venules extends both up- and downstream into the arterial and venous limbs, where the original microvessel tube widens and becomes the innermost layer-the intima-of all the larger coronary vessels. In the myocardium's smallest functional units and in the intima of the coronaries, the pericytes play key roles by virtue of both their central histological localization and their physiological functions. Recognition and integration of these properties has led to new pathogenetic models for diverse heart diseases and suggests that current therapeutic concepts need to be revised.
