Meta-environment No8: pericytic network — distributed microvascular satellite cells integrating hemodynamics, barrier functions, and tissue homeostasis

Pericytes (Rouge cells, perivascular cells) remained "invisible" companions of the endothelium for a long time — they were considered passive structural elements of the capillary wall that did not have an independent regulatory role. Modern research has radically revised this idea. Pericytes are a heterogeneous population of mural cells distributed throughout the vascular bed, embedded in the basement membrane of microvessels and playing a fundamental role in maintaining vascular homeostasis, regulating local blood flow, forming and maintaining blood-brain and blood-retinal barriers, angiogenesis, immune modulation, and reparative processes. The density of pericytes on vessels correlates with the barrier function characteristic of each organ and is highest in the central nervous system, where pericytes cover up to 70–80% of the capillary surface. Pericytes are multipotent progenitor cells capable of differentiating into fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, adipocytes and osteoblasts, and under pathological conditions they participate in the pericyte-myofibroblast transition leading to fibrosis. In this paper, we substantiate that the pericytic network is the active meta-medium No8. Particular attention is paid to the systemic restoration of the pericytic network in the Quatotron method — multimodal physical action, longevity mechanics and biogenic nutrition aimed at restoring the pericytic coating, improving barrier functions and reducing fibrotic changes. Understanding pericytes as a meta-environment opens up new opportunities for the prevention and treatment of vascular, neurodegenerative, metabolic and fibrotic diseases.