Mravic Marco, Asatrian Greg, Soo Chia, Lugassy Claire, Barnhill Raymond L, Dry Sarah M, Peault Bruno, James Aaron W
Orthopaedic Hospital Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Int Orthop. 2014 Sep;38(9):1819-24. doi: 10.1007/s00264-014-2295-0. Epub 2014 Feb 25.
Pericytes were once thought only to aid in angiogenesis and blood pressure control. Gradually, the known functions of pericytes and other perivascular stem cells (PSC) have broadly increased. The following review article will summarize the known functions and importance of pericytes across disciplines of pathology, stem cell biology, and tissue engineering.
A literature review was performed for studies examining the importance of pericytes in pathology, stem cell biology, and tissue engineering.
The importance of pericytes most prominently includes the identification of the perivascular identity of mesenchymal stem cells (or MSC). Now, pericytes and other PSC are known to display surface markers and multilineage differentiation potential of MSC. Accordingly, interest in the purification and use of PSC for mesenchymal tissue formation and regeneration has increased. Significant demonstration of in vivo efficacy in bone and muscle regeneration has been made in laboratory animals. Contemporaneously with the uncovering of an MSC identity for pericytes, investigators in tumour biology have found biologically relevant roles for pericytes in tumor formation, lymphovascular invasion, and perivascular tumor spread. As well, the contribution of pericytes to perivascular tumors has been examined (and debated), including glomus tumour, myopericytoma and solitary fibrous tumour/hemangiopericytoma. In addition, an expanding recognition of pericyte mimicry and perivascular tumour invasion has occurred, encompassing common malignancies of the brain and skin.
In summary, pericytes have a wide range of roles in health and disease. Pericytes are being increasingly studied for their role in tumour formation, growth and invasion. Likewise, the application of pericytes/PSC for mesenchymal tissue engineering is an expanding field of interest.
周细胞曾被认为仅有助于血管生成和血压控制。逐渐地，周细胞和其他血管周围干细胞（PSC）的已知功能已广泛增加。以下综述文章将总结周细胞在病理学、干细胞生物学和组织工程等学科中的已知功能及重要性。
对研究周细胞在病理学、干细胞生物学和组织工程中重要性的研究进行了文献综述。
周细胞的重要性最显著地包括间充质干细胞（或MSC）血管周围身份的识别。现在，已知周细胞和其他PSC表现出MSC的表面标志物和多系分化潜能。因此，对纯化和使用PSC进行间充质组织形成和再生的兴趣增加了。在实验动物中已显著证明其在骨和肌肉再生中的体内疗效。在发现周细胞具有MSC身份的同时，肿瘤生物学领域的研究人员发现周细胞在肿瘤形成、淋巴管侵袭和血管周围肿瘤扩散中具有生物学相关作用。此外，还研究了（并存在争议）周细胞对血管周围肿瘤的贡献，包括血管球瘤、肌周细胞瘤和孤立性纤维性肿瘤/血管外皮细胞瘤。此外，对周细胞模拟和血管周围肿瘤侵袭的认识也在不断扩大，涵盖了脑和皮肤的常见恶性肿瘤。
总之，周细胞在健康和疾病中具有广泛作用。人们越来越多地研究周细胞在肿瘤形成、生长和侵袭中的作用。同样，周细胞/PSC在间充质组织工程中的应用是一个不断扩大的研究领域。
