title: Pericyte signaling in the neurovascular unit.
abstract: Brain pericytes are intimately associated with capillary endothelial cells, separated only by basement membrane. Pericyte research has been hampered by absence of pericyte-specific immunochemical markers. The vast array of pericyte functions include contractility, immunologic, migratory, and angiogenic. Pericytes have stem cell potential, contribute to the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, and have a regulatory role for hemostasis in the brain. Improvement in pericyte identification is likely to lead to marked increase in appreciation of the role of pericytes in the neurovascular unit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, UC Irvine Medical Center, 101 The City Drive South, Shanbrom Hall, Room 121, Orange, CA 92868, USA. mfisher@uci.edu
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000502:physiology; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D020286:Pericytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*