Biology of the renal pericyte

SW Smith, S Chand, COS Savage - Nephrology Dialysis …, 2012 - academic.oup.com
SW Smith, S Chand, COS Savage
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 2012academic.oup.com
Pericytes are cells of mesenchymal origin that are intimately involved in the development
and stabilization of vascular networks. Novel studies of their role in inflammation have
identified that pericytes are not only major contributors to the activated matrix depositing
myofibroblast populations seen in progressive renal fibrosis but perhaps even more
importantly, the detachment of renal pericytes from the vasculature contributes to the
microvasculature rarefaction and subsequent hypoxia associated with chronic kidney …
Abstract
Pericytes are cells of mesenchymal origin that are intimately involved in the development and stabilization of vascular networks. Novel studies of their role in inflammation have identified that pericytes are not only major contributors to the activated matrix depositing myofibroblast populations seen in progressive renal fibrosis but perhaps even more importantly, the detachment of renal pericytes from the vasculature contributes to the microvasculature rarefaction and subsequent hypoxia associated with chronic kidney disease. In this review, our current understanding of the functioning of renal pericytes will be considered and set in the context of the wider literature that is currently available on this neglected population of cells.
Oxford University Press