Pericyte coculture models to study astrocyte, pericyte, and endothelial cell interactions.

The microvascular pericyte is an integral component of the blood-brain barrier and the neurovascular unit. Most model systems that have been developed to study the functional parameters of these systems have not incorporated the pericyte. In this chapter, we consider pericyte coculture and triple culture systems and detail the methodology, suggestions, and problems with isolation of these unique cells. We also present data to show that triple cultures are ideal to study the role of the CNS pericyte in CNS angiogenesis.