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Cancer Letters Mar 2023Pericytes are a type of mural cell located between the endothelial cells of capillaries and the basement membrane, which function to regulate the capillary vasomotor and... (Review)
Review
Pericytes are a type of mural cell located between the endothelial cells of capillaries and the basement membrane, which function to regulate the capillary vasomotor and maintain normal microcirculation of local tissues and organs and have been identified as a significant component in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Pericytes have various interactions with different components of the TME, such as constituting the pre-metastatic niche, promoting the growth of cancer cells and drug resistance through paracrine activity, and inducing M2 macrophage polarization. While changes in the TME can affect the number, phenotype, and molecular markers of pericytes. For example, pericyte detachment from endothelial cells in the TME facilitates tumor cells in situ to invade the circulating blood and is beneficial to local capillary basement membrane enzymatic hydrolysis and endothelial cell proliferation and budding, which contribute to tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. In this review, we discuss the emerging role of pericytes in the TME, and tumor treatment related to pericytes. This review aimed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the function of pericytes and the relationship between pericytes and tumors and to provide ideas for the treatment and prevention of malignant tumors.
Topics: Humans; Pericytes; Tumor Microenvironment; Endothelial Cells; Macrophages; Neovascularization, Pathologic; Neoplasms
PubMed: 36682706
DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216074 -
Histology and Histopathology Jun 2021The proper delivery of blood is essential for healthy neuronal function. The anatomical substrate for this precise mechanism is the neurovascular unit, which is formed... (Review)
Review
The proper delivery of blood is essential for healthy neuronal function. The anatomical substrate for this precise mechanism is the neurovascular unit, which is formed by neurons, glial cells, endothelia, smooth muscle cells, and pericytes. Based on their particular location on the vessel wall, morphology, and protein expression, pericytes have been proposed as cells capable of regulating capillary blood flow. Pericytes are located around the microvessels, wrapping them with their processes. Their morphology and protein expression substantially vary along the vascular tree. Their contractibility is mediated by a unique cytoskeleton organization formed by filaments of actin that allows pericyte deformability with the consequent mechanical force transferred to the extracellular matrix for changing the diameter. Pericyte ultrastructure is characterized by large mitochondria likely to provide energy to regulate intracellular calcium concentration and fuel contraction. Accordingly, pericytes with compromised energy show a sustained intracellular calcium increase that leads to persistent microvascular constriction. Pericyte morphology is highly plastic and adapted for varying contractile capability along the microvascular tree, making pericytes ideal cells to regulate the capillary blood flow in response to local neuronal activity. Besides the vascular regulation, pericytes also play a role in the maintenance of the blood-brain/retina barrier, neovascularization and angiogenesis, and leukocyte transmigration. Here, we review the morphological and functional features of the pericytes as well as potential specific markers for the study of pericytes in the brain and retina.
Topics: Actins; Blood-Brain Barrier; Brain; Calcium; Capillaries; Hyperemia; Microvessels; Muscle Contraction; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle; Neovascularization, Pathologic; Pericytes; Retina
PubMed: 33595091
DOI: 10.14670/HH-18-314 -
Immunological Reviews Jul 2021Activation of fibroblasts is a key event during normal tissue repair after injury and the dysregulated repair processes that result in organ fibrosis. To most... (Review)
Review
Activation of fibroblasts is a key event during normal tissue repair after injury and the dysregulated repair processes that result in organ fibrosis. To most researchers, fibroblasts are rather unremarkable spindle-shaped cells embedded in the fibrous collagen matrix of connective tissues and/or deemed useful to perform mechanistic studies with adherent cells in culture. For more than a century, fibroblasts escaped thorough classification due to the lack of specific markers and were treated as the leftovers after all other cells have been identified from a tissue sample. With novel cell lineage tracing and single cell transcriptomics tools, bona fide fibroblasts emerge as only one heterogeneous sub-population of a much larger group of partly overlapping cell types, including mesenchymal stromal cells, fibro-adipogenic progenitor cells, pericytes, and/or perivascular cells. All these cells are activated to contribute to tissue repair after injury and/or chronic inflammation. "Activation" can entail various functions, such as enhanced proliferation, migration, instruction of inflammatory cells, secretion of extracellular matrix proteins and organizing enzymes, and acquisition of a contractile myofibroblast phenotype. We provide our view on the fibroblastic cell types and activation states playing a role during physiological and pathological repair and their crosstalk with inflammatory macrophages. Inflammation and fibrosis of the articular synovium during rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are used as specific examples to discuss inflammatory fibroblast phenotypes. Ultimately, delineating the precursors and functional roles of activated fibroblastic cells will contribute to better and more specific intervention strategies to treat fibroproliferative and fibrocontractive disorders.
Topics: Fibroblasts; Fibrosis; Humans; Macrophages; Pericytes; Speech
PubMed: 33987902
DOI: 10.1111/imr.12971 -
International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2020Retinal microvasculature is crucial for the visual function of the neural retina. Pericytes and endothelial cells (ECs) are the two main cellular constituents in the... (Review)
Review
Retinal microvasculature is crucial for the visual function of the neural retina. Pericytes and endothelial cells (ECs) are the two main cellular constituents in the retinal microvessels. Formation, maturation, and stabilization of the micro-vasculatures require pericyte-endothelial interactions, which are perturbed in many retinal vascular disorders, such as retinopathy of prematurity, retinal vein occlusion, and diabetic retinopathy. Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of pericyte-endothelial interaction and perturbation can facilitate the design of therapeutic intervention for the prevention and treatment of retinal vascular disorders. Pericyte-endothelial interactions are indispensable for the integrity and functionality of retinal neurovascular unit (NVU), including vascular cells, retinal neurons, and glial cells. The essential autocrine and paracrine signaling pathways, such as Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Platelet-derived growth factor subunit B (PDGFB), Notch, Angipointein, Norrin, and Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), have been well characterized for the regulation of pericyte-endothelial interactions in the neo-vessel formation processes (vasculogenesis and angiogenesis) during embryonic development. They also play a vital role in stabilizing and remodeling mature vasculature under pathological conditions. Awry signals, aberrant metabolisms, and pathological conditions, such as oxidative stress and inflammation, can disrupt the communication between pericytes and endothelial cells, thereby resulting in the breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) and other microangiopathies. The emerging evidence supports extracellular exosomes' roles in the (mis)communications between the two cell types. This review summarizes the essential knowledge and updates about new advancements in pericyte-EC interaction and communication, emphasizing the retinal microvasculature.
Topics: Animals; Blood-Retinal Barrier; Endothelial Cells; Exosomes; Humans; Microvessels; Models, Animal; Neovascularization, Physiologic; Pericytes; Retina; Retinal Diseases; Retinal Vessels; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 33049983
DOI: 10.3390/ijms21197413 -
Trends in Cell Biology Jan 2024Pericytes are known as the mural cells in small-caliber vessels that interact closely with the endothelium. Pericytes play a key role in vasculature formation and... (Review)
Review
Pericytes are known as the mural cells in small-caliber vessels that interact closely with the endothelium. Pericytes play a key role in vasculature formation and homeostasis, and when dysfunctional contribute to vasculature-related diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and neurodegenerative conditions. In addition, significant extravascular roles of pathological pericytes are being discovered with relevant implications for cancer and fibrosis. Pericyte research is challenged by the lack of consistent molecular markers and clear discrimination criteria versus other (mural) cells. However, advances in single-cell approaches are uncovering and clarifying mural cell identities, biological functions, and ontogeny across organs. We discuss the latest developments in pericyte pathobiology to inform future research directions and potential outcomes.
Topics: Humans; Pericytes; Biomarkers; Endothelium, Vascular; Homeostasis
PubMed: 37474376
DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2023.06.001 -
Nature Chemical Biology Mar 2021Secreted polypeptides are a fundamental axis of intercellular and endocrine communication. However, a global understanding of the composition and dynamics of cellular...
Secreted polypeptides are a fundamental axis of intercellular and endocrine communication. However, a global understanding of the composition and dynamics of cellular secretomes in intact mammalian organisms has been lacking. Here, we introduce a proximity biotinylation strategy that enables labeling, detection and enrichment of secreted polypeptides in a cell type-selective manner in mice. We generate a proteomic atlas of hepatocyte, myocyte, pericyte and myeloid cell secretomes by direct purification of biotinylated secreted proteins from blood plasma. Our secretome dataset validates known cell type-protein pairs, reveals secreted polypeptides that distinguish between cell types and identifies new cellular sources for classical plasma proteins. Lastly, we uncover a dynamic and previously undescribed nutrient-dependent reprogramming of the hepatocyte secretome characterized by the increased unconventional secretion of the cytosolic enzyme betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase (BHMT). This secretome profiling strategy enables dynamic and cell type-specific dissection of the plasma proteome and the secreted polypeptides that mediate intercellular signaling.
Topics: Animals; Betaine-Homocysteine S-Methyltransferase; Biotin; Biotinylation; Blood Proteins; Gene Expression; HEK293 Cells; Hepatocytes; Humans; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Muscle Cells; Myeloid Cells; Organ Specificity; Pericytes; Proteome; Proteomics; Staining and Labeling
PubMed: 33199915
DOI: 10.1038/s41589-020-00698-y -
Theranostics 2023Capillary dysfunction has been implicated in a series of life- threatening vascular diseases characterized by pericyte and endothelial cell (EC) degeneration. However,...
Capillary dysfunction has been implicated in a series of life- threatening vascular diseases characterized by pericyte and endothelial cell (EC) degeneration. However, the molecular profiles that govern the heterogeneity of pericytes have not been fully elucidated. Single-cell RNA sequencing was conducted on oxygen-induced proliferative retinopathy (OIR) model. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to identify specific pericytes involved in capillary dysfunction. qRT-PCRs and western blots were conducted to detect Col1a1 expression pattern during capillary dysfunction. Matrigel co-culture assays, PI staining, and JC-1 staining was conducted to determine the role of Col1a1 in pericyte biology. IB4 and NG2 staining was conducted to determine the role of Col1a1 in capillary dysfunction. We constructed an atlas of > 76,000 single-cell transcriptomes from 4 mouse retinas, which could be annotated to 10 distinct retinal cell types. Using the sub-clustering analysis, we further characterized retinal pericytes into 3 different subpopulations. Notably, GO and KEGG pathway analysis demonstrated that pericyte sub-population 2 was identified to be vulnerable to retinal capillary dysfunction. Based on the single-cell sequencing results, Col1a1 was identified as a marker gene of pericyte sub-population 2 and a promising therapeutic target for capillary dysfunction. Col1a1 was abundantly expressed in pericytes and its expression was obviously upregulated in OIR retinas. Col1a1 silencing could retard the recruitment of pericytes toward endothelial cells and aggravated hypoxia-induced pericyte apoptosis . Col1a1 silencing could reduce the size of neovascular area and avascular area in OIR retinas and suppressed pericyte-myofibroblast transition and endothelial-mesenchymal transition. Moreover, Col1a1 expression was up-regulated in the aqueous humor of the patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) or retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and up-regulated in the proliferative membranes of PDR patients. These findings enhance the understanding of the complexity and heterogeneity of retinal cells and have important implications for future treatment of capillary dysfunction.
Topics: Mice; Animals; Pericytes; Endothelial Cells; Retina; Diabetic Retinopathy; Sequence Analysis, RNA
PubMed: 37215579
DOI: 10.7150/thno.83532 -
Gut Apr 2023Haematogenous dissemination is a prevalent route of colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis. However, as the gatekeeper of vessels, the role of tumour pericytes (TPCs) in...
OBJECTIVE
Haematogenous dissemination is a prevalent route of colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis. However, as the gatekeeper of vessels, the role of tumour pericytes (TPCs) in haematogenous metastasis remains largely unknown. Here, we aimed to investigate the heterogeneity of TPCs and their effects on CRC metastasis.
DESIGN
TPCs were isolated from patients with CRC with or without liver metastases and analysed by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Clinical CRC specimens were collected to analyse the association between the molecular profiling of TPCs and CRC metastasis. RNA-sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing and bisulfite-sequencing were performed to investigate the TCF21-regulated genes and mechanisms underlying integrin α5 on DNA hypermethylation. Pericyte-conditional -knockout mice were constructed to investigate the effects of TCF21 in TPCs on CRC metastasis. Masson staining, atomic force microscopy, second-harmonic generation and two-photon fluorescence microscopy were employed to observe perivascular extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling.
RESULTS
Thirteen TPC subpopulations were identified by scRNA-seq. A novel subset of TCF21 TPCs, termed 'matrix-pericytes', was associated with liver metastasis in patients with CRC. TCF21 in TPCs increased perivascular ECM stiffness, collagen rearrangement and basement membrane degradation, establishing a perivascular metastatic microenvironment to instigate colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRCLM). depletion in TPCs mitigated perivascular ECM remodelling and CRCLM, whereas the coinjection of TCF21 TPCs and CRC cells markedly promoted CRCLM. Mechanistically, loss of integrin α5 inhibited the FAK/PI3K/AKT/DNMT1 axis to impair DNA hypermethylation in TCF21 TPCs.
CONCLUSION
This study uncovers a previously unidentified role of TPCs in haematogenous metastasis and provides a potential diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for CRC metastasis.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Cell Line, Tumor; Colorectal Neoplasms; DNA; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Integrin alpha5; Liver Neoplasms; Neoplasm Metastasis; Pericytes; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Tumor Microenvironment
PubMed: 36805487
DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2022-327913 -
Circulation Research Feb 2021Pericytes are capillary mural cells playing a role in stabilizing newly formed blood vessels during development and tissue repair. Loss of pericytes has been described...
RATIONALE
Pericytes are capillary mural cells playing a role in stabilizing newly formed blood vessels during development and tissue repair. Loss of pericytes has been described in several brain disorders, and genetically induced pericyte deficiency in the brain leads to increased macromolecular leakage across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). However, the molecular details of the endothelial response to pericyte deficiency remain elusive.
OBJECTIVE
To map the transcriptional changes in brain endothelial cells resulting from lack of pericyte contact at single-cell level and to correlate them with regional heterogeneities in BBB function and vascular phenotype.
METHODS AND RESULTS
We reveal transcriptional, morphological, and functional consequences of pericyte absence for brain endothelial cells using a combination of methodologies, including single-cell RNA sequencing, tracer analyses, and immunofluorescent detection of protein expression in pericyte-deficient adult mice. We find that endothelial cells without pericyte contact retain a general BBB-specific gene expression profile, however, they acquire a venous-shifted molecular pattern and become transformed regarding the expression of numerous growth factors and regulatory proteins. Adult brains display ongoing angiogenic sprouting without concomitant cell proliferation providing unique insights into the endothelial tip cell transcriptome. We also reveal heterogeneous modes of pericyte-deficient BBB impairment, where hotspot leakage sites display arteriolar-shifted identity and pinpoint putative BBB regulators. By testing the causal involvement of some of these using reverse genetics, we uncover a reinforcing role for angiopoietin 2 at the BBB.
CONCLUSIONS
By elucidating the complexity of endothelial response to pericyte deficiency at cellular resolution, our study provides insight into the importance of brain pericytes for endothelial arterio-venous zonation, angiogenic quiescence, and a limited set of BBB functions. The BBB-reinforcing role of ANGPT2 (angiopoietin 2) is paradoxical given its wider role as TIE2 (TEK receptor tyrosine kinase) receptor antagonist and may suggest a unique and context-dependent function of ANGPT2 in the brain.
Topics: Animals; Blood-Brain Barrier; Cell Proliferation; Cells, Cultured; Endothelial Cells; Lymphokines; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Neovascularization, Physiologic; Pericytes; Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; Single-Cell Analysis; Transcriptome
PubMed: 33375813
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.317473 -
Neuron May 2022Endothelial cells of blood vessels of the central nervous system (CNS) constitute blood-CNS barriers. Barrier properties are not intrinsic to these cells; rather they...
Endothelial cells of blood vessels of the central nervous system (CNS) constitute blood-CNS barriers. Barrier properties are not intrinsic to these cells; rather they are induced and maintained by CNS microenvironment. Notably, the abluminal surfaces of CNS capillaries are ensheathed by pericytes and astrocytes. However, extrinsic factors from these perivascular cells that regulate barrier integrity are largely unknown. Here, we establish vitronectin, an extracellular matrix protein secreted by CNS pericytes, as a regulator of blood-CNS barrier function via interactions with its integrin receptor, α5, in endothelial cells. Genetic ablation of vitronectin or mutating vitronectin to prevent integrin binding, as well as endothelial-specific deletion of integrin α5, causes barrier leakage in mice. Furthermore, vitronectin-integrin α5 signaling maintains barrier integrity by actively inhibiting transcytosis in endothelial cells. These results demonstrate that signaling from perivascular cells to endothelial cells via ligand-receptor interactions is a key mechanism to regulate barrier permeability.
Topics: Animals; Blood-Brain Barrier; Central Nervous System; Endothelial Cells; Integrin alpha5; Integrins; Mice; Pericytes; Vitronectin
PubMed: 35294899
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.02.017