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(Stroke. 2009;40:S13.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

Neurovascular Unit

Pericyte Signaling in the Neurovascular Unit

From the Departments of Neurology and Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine.

Correspondence to Mark Fisher, Department of Neurology, UC Irvine Medical Center, 101 The City Drive South, Shanbrom Hall, Room 121, Orange, CA 92868. E-mail mfisher{at}uci.edu

Brain pericytes are intimately associated with capillary endothelial cells, separated only by basement membrane. Pericyte research has been hampered by absence of pericyte-specific immunochemical markers. The vast array of pericyte functions include contractility, immunologic, migratory, and angiogenic. Pericytes have stem cell potential, contribute to the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, and have a regulatory role for hemostasis in the brain. Improvement in pericyte identification is likely to lead to marked increase in appreciation of the role of pericytes in the neurovascular unit.

Key Words: pericyte • endothelium • astrocyte • neurovascular