Why the study?
Pericyte research has been hindered by confusion regarding phenotypic identity, nomenclature, heterogeneity, and mouse-human species differences.
Precise identification of human pericyte subsets may aid in understanding blood-brain barrier biology and developing targeted therapies for neurological diseases.
May inform targeted neurological therapies via blood-brain barrier insights; leaves open functional validation of pericyte subsets.
Pericytes are increasingly recognized as being important in the control of blood-brain barrier permeability and vascular flow. Research on this important cell type has been hindered by widespread confusion regarding the phenotypic identity and nomenclature of pericytes and other perivascular cell types. In addition, pericyte heterogeneity and mouse-human species differences have contributed to confusion. Herein we summarize our present knowledge on the identification of pericytes and pericyte subsets in humans, primarily focusing on recent findings in humans and nonhuman primates. Precise identification and definition of pericytes and pericyte subsets in humans may help us to better understand pericyte biology and develop new therapeutic approaches specifically targeting disease-associated pericyte subsets.
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Bohannon et al. (2021) studied this question.
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