First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 314 An Shan Xi Road, Nan Kai District, Tianjin 300193, China.
Institute of acupuncture and moxibustion, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 314 An Shan Xi Road, Nan Kai District, Tianjin 300193, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Science, National Acupuncture Clinical Research Center, China.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2020 Jan;121:109633. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2019.109633. Epub 2019 Nov 25.
Pericytes, as mural cells of microvessels, are important regulators of vascular structure formation and function maintenance in the process of cerebrovascular maturation, cerebrovascular homeostasis and disease. In the recent years, they have gradually become the hot spot of the research. In fact, pericytes are not isolated cells. Their functions can't be played without the cooperation with surrounding cells. In the neurovascular unit (NVU), they communicate with other cells by direct contact or through signaling pathways to regulate cerebral vascular function and the state of blood vessels in response to changes in neural activity. Pericytes are closely related to the cerebrovascular and central nervous system disease. Currently, a large number of clinical and animal studies have confirmed that pericytes biological function is related to cerebral blood flow, blood-brain barrier permeability, cerebral vascular formation maintenance, and neuroinflammation. The objective of this review is to highlight the role of pericytes in cerebral microvessels as well as their relationships with stroke, dementia, and brain tumor disease. The possible pathogenic mechanisms between pericytes and these diseases will also be described. As a matter of fact, the role of pericytes in the brain-associated vascular disease may provide new ideas for clinical treatment.
周细胞作为微血管壁细胞，在脑血管成熟、脑血管稳态和疾病过程中，是血管结构形成和功能维持的重要调节因子。近年来，它们逐渐成为研究热点。事实上，周细胞不是孤立的细胞。没有与周围细胞的合作，它们的功能就无法发挥。在神经血管单元（NVU）中，它们通过直接接触或通过信号通路与其他细胞进行交流，以调节脑血管功能和血管状态，从而响应神经活动的变化。周细胞与脑血管和中枢神经系统疾病密切相关。目前，大量的临床和动物研究已经证实，周细胞的生物学功能与脑血流、血脑屏障通透性、脑血管形成维持和神经炎症有关。本综述的目的是强调周细胞在脑微血管中的作用，以及它们与中风、痴呆和脑肿瘤疾病的关系。还将描述周细胞与这些疾病之间可能的发病机制。事实上，周细胞在与大脑相关的血管疾病中的作用可能为临床治疗提供新的思路。
