title: The role of pericyte detachment in vascular rarefaction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pericytes surround endothelial cells at the perivascular interface. Signaling between endothelial cells and pericytes is crucial for capillary homeostasis, as pericytes stabilize vessels and regulate many microvascular functions. Recently it has been shown that pericytes are able to detach from the vascular wall and contribute to fibrosis by becoming scar-forming myofibroblasts in many organs including the kidney. At the same time, the loss of pericytes within the perivascular compartment results in vulnerable capillaries which are prone to instability, pathological angiogenesis, and, ultimately, rarefaction.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This review will give an overview of pericyte-endothelial cell interactions, summarize the signaling pathways that have been identified to be involved in pericyte detachment from the vascular wall, and present pathological endothelial responses in the context of disease of the kidney.
authors.affiliation: Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schrimpf
authors.forename: Omke E
authors.initials: OE
authors.lastname: Teebken
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilhelmi
authors.forename: Jeremy S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Duffield
mesh_terms: D002196:Capillaries / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D020286:Pericytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*