Summary
Pericytes are a heterogeneous group of extensively branched cells located in microvessels
where they make focal contacts with endothelium. Pericytes stabilize blood vessels,
regulate vascular tone, synthesize matrix, participate in repair, and serve as progenitor
cells, among other functions. Recent work has highlighted the role of pericytes and
pericyte-like cells in fibrosis, in which chronic injury triggers pericyte proliferation
and differentiation into collagen-secretory, contractile myofibroblasts with migration
away from vessels, causing microvascular rarefaction. In this review the developmental
origins of kidney pericytes and perivascular fibroblasts are summarized, pericyte
to myofibroblast transition in type I diabetic nephropathy is discussed, and the regulation
of pericyte differentiation into myofibroblasts as a therapeutic target for treatment
of diabetic nephropathy is described.
Keywords
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Article info
Footnotes
Financial support: Supported by National Institutes of Health grant DK088923 and a grant from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
Conflict of interest statement: none.
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© 2012 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
