Journal
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 20, Issue 3, Pages 406-416Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nn.4489
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [R01 AG023084, R01 AG039452, R01 NS034467, R01 NS100459, R01 NS091230, R01 EB000790, R24 NS092986, P01 NS055104]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31371116]
- American Heart Association [SDG7600037]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Pericytes are perivascular mural cells of brain capillaries. They are positioned centrally in the neurovascular unit between endothelial cells, astrocytes and neurons. This position allows them to regulate key neurovascular functions of the brain. The role of pericytes in the regulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and neurovascular coupling remains, however, under debate. Using loss-of-function pericyte-deficient mice, here we show that pericyte degeneration diminishes global and individual capillary CBF responses to neuronal stimuli, resulting in neurovascular uncoupling, reduced oxygen supply to the brain and metabolic stress. Neurovascular deficits lead over time to impaired neuronal excitability and neurodegenerative changes. Thus, pericyte degeneration as seen in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease may contribute to neurovascular dysfunction and neurodegeneration associated with human disease.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available