Microglia directly associate with pericytes in the central nervous system.

ABSTRACT: Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is important for the maintenance of brain function and its dysregulation has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Microglia associations with capillaries suggest they may play a role in the regulation of CBF or the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). We explored the relationship between microglia and pericytes, a vessel-resident cell type that has a major role in the control of CBF and maintenance of the BBB, discovering a spatially distinct subset of microglia that closely associate with pericytes. We termed these pericyte-associated microglia (PEM). PEM are present throughout the brain and spinal cord in NG2DsRed × CX₃ CR1^+/GFP mice, and in the human frontal cortex. Using in vivo two-photon microscopy, we found microglia residing adjacent to

SUBMITTER: Morris GP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10952742 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature