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A High Output Method to Isolate Cerebral Pericytes from Mouse
Published on: January 14, 2020
Pericyte: Potential Target for Hemorrhagic Stroke Prevention and Treatment
Qiang Li1, Xin Liu1, Huaizhen Ruan2
1Department of Neurosurgery, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Insights
Pericytes play a critical role in hemorrhagic stroke, contributing to its development and recovery. Targeting pericytes offers a promising avenue for developing new therapeutic strategies for this condition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Vascular Biology
- Pathophysiology
Background:
- Hemorrhagic stroke presents a significant global health challenge with limited therapeutic options.
- The lack of effective preventive and therapeutic targets underscores the need for deeper understanding of its mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic stroke.
- To identify novel therapeutic targets for hemorrhagic stroke.
Main Methods:
- Investigated the role of pericytes, microvessel mural cells, in modulating vascular functions.
- Examined pericyte involvement in microvascular permeability, tissue repair, and inflammatory responses.
Main Results:
- Pericyte dysfunction contributes to vascular rupture and initial stroke development.
- In the acute phase, pericyte death exacerbates blood-brain barrier damage and neural injury.
- During recovery, pericytes aid in neural repair, vascular network regeneration, and functional recovery.
Conclusions:
- Pericytes exhibit multifaceted roles in hemorrhagic stroke pathogenesis, from rupture to recovery.
- Targeting pericytes represents a promising strategy for future hemorrhagic stroke prevention and treatment development.
Background:
Despite long-standing and worldwide efforts, hemorrhagic stroke remains a critical clinical syndrome that exerts a heavy toll on affected individuals and their families due to the lack of preventive and therapeutic targets.
Objective:
To clarify the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic stroke and to identify novel therapeutic targets.
Method:
Targeting pericytes, the typical mural cells of microvessels, could serve as a way to modulate microvascular permeability, development, and maturation by regulating endothelial cell functions and modulating tissue fibrosis and inflammatory responses.
Results:
Pericytes in hemorrhagic stroke may exert the following functions: before bleeding, the morphological aberration and dysfunction of pericytes may lead to aneurysm formation, angiopsathyrosis, and hemodynamic disturbances, ultimately causing vasculature rupture. In the acute phase after hemorrhage, pericytes are faced with a complicated bleeding environment, which results in the death of pericytes, blood-brain barrier damage, pericyte-mediated inflammatory cascades, white matter impairment, and ultimately aggravated neural injury. In the recovery period post-hemorrhage, in situ pericytes are activated and differentiate into neurons, glia and endothelial cells to repair the neural vascular network. Moreover, many pericytes are recruited to the lesion and contribute to blood-brain barrier remodeling, thus facilitating neurovascular functional recovery after stroke.
Conclusion:
Due to the multiple functions of pericytes in the development of vascular rupture and hemorrhagic stroke pathophysiology, additional drugs and trials targeting pericytes and evaluations of their effectiveness are required in future investigations to develop new strategies for the prevention and treatment of hemorrhagic stroke.
