Pericyte

Pericytes are specialized, multi-functional cells that wrap around the endothelial cells of small blood vessels (capillaries and post-capillary venules) throughout the body, especially in the brain and retina. Embedded within the vascular basement membrane, pericytes communicate with endothelial cells both by direct contact and through signaling molecules. Their key functions include maintaining the blood–brain barrier, regulating capillary blood flow, promoting angiogenesis, supporting endothelial survival, and modulating neuroinflammation and immune cell entry into the central nervous system. Pericytes display a range of molecular markers (including PDGFR-β, RGS5, NG2, and α-SMA depending on tissue and context) and have stem cell-like regenerative properties. Dysfunction or loss of pericytes is implicated in a range of diseases, including stroke, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes-related microvascular disease, and cancer. As such, pericytes are an active area of therapeutic research, with strategies aiming to modulate their survival, proliferation, and signaling to restore vascular integrity or inhibit pathological angiogenesis. However, challenges remain in specifically targeting pericytes without affecting other cell types and safely translating these approaches to the clinic[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Note: "Pericyte" is a cell type, not a single molecular target, receptor, enzyme, or transporter. Therapeutic targeting often addresses pericyte function through molecules they express (e.g., PDGFR-β), but pericyte itself is not a canonical therapeutic target molecule—therefore, this entry is flagged for "is_incorrect" due to its nature as a cell type and not a molecular entity suitable for standard drug targeting.

Other names

Rouget cellmural cellvascular smooth muscle cell (sometimes used, though not equivalent)perivascular cell

Inhibition of PDGFR-β signaling (e.g., imatinib inhibits pericyte proliferation and angiogenesis in tumors) - Maintenance/restoration of BBB and vascular integrity (edaravone through free radical scavenging; cilostazol via MMP-9 inhibition, VEGFR2 upregulation) - Modulation of pericyte recruitment, survival, and proliferation via signaling molecules and pathways (TGF-β, RGS5, MMP9)