Potential interactions between pericytes and oligodendrocyte precursor cells in perivascular regions of cerebral white matter.
Pericytes are embedded within basal lamina and play multiple roles in the perivascular niche in brain. Recently, oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) have also been reported to associate with cerebral endothelium. Is it possible that within this gliovascular locus, there may also exist potential spatial and functional interactions between pericytes and OPCs? Here, we demonstrated that in the perivascular region of cerebral white matter, pericytes and OPCs may attach and support each other. Immunostaining showed that pericytes and OPCs are localized in close contact with each other in mouse white matter at postnatal days 0, 60 and 240. Electron microscopic analysis confirmed that pericytes attached to OPCs via basal lamina in the perivascular region. The close proximity between these two cell types was also observed in postmortem human brains. Functional interaction between pericytes and OPCs was assessed by in vitro media transfer experiments. When OPC cultures were treated with pericyte-conditioned media, OPC number increased. Similarly, pericyte number increased when pericytes were maintained in OPC-conditioned media. Taken together, our data suggest a potential anatomical and functional interaction between pericytes and OPCs in cerebral white matter.
Neuroprotection Research Laboratory, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA.
Takakuni
T
Maki
Department of Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Biomedical Research and Innovation, Kobe, Japan.
Mitsuyo
M
Maeda
Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan.
Maiko
M
Uemura
Neuroprotection Research Laboratory, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA.
Evan K
EK
Lo
Neuroprotection Research Laboratory, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA.
Yasukazu
Y
Terasaki
Neuroprotection Research Laboratory, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA.
Anna C
AC
Liang
Neuroprotection Research Laboratory, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA.
Akihiro
A
Shindo
Neuroprotection Research Laboratory, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA.
Yoon Kyung
YK
Choi
Department of Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Biomedical Research and Innovation, Kobe, Japan.
Akihiko
A
Taguchi
Laboratory of Neurogenesis and CNS Repair, Institute for Advanced Medical Science, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan.
Tomohiro
T
Matsuyama
Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan.
Ryosuke
R
Takahashi
Department of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
Masafumi
M
Ihara
Neuroprotection Research Laboratory, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA. Electronic address: karai@partners.org.
Ken
K
Arai
D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology*; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008875:Middle Aged; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D020286:Pericytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013045:Species Specificity; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000166:cytology*
Oligodendrocyte precursor cell; Pericyte; Perivascular niche; White matter