Loss of the transcription factor RBPJ induces disease-promoting properties in brain pericytes.

ABSTRACT: Sufficient vascular supply is indispensable for brain development and function, whereas dysfunctional blood vessels are associated with human diseases such as vascular malformations, stroke or neurodegeneration. Pericytes are capillary-associated mesenchymal cells that limit vascular permeability and protect the brain by preserving blood-brain barrier integrity. Loss of pericytes has been linked to neurodegenerative changes in genetically modified mice. Here, we report that postnatal inactivation of the Rbpj gene, encoding the transcription factor RBPJ, leads to alteration of cell identity markers in brain pericytes, increases local TGFβ signalling, and triggers profound changes in endothelial behaviour. These changes, which are not mimicked by pericyte ablation, imperil vascular stability

SUBMITTER: Dieguez-Hurtado R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6597568 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature