Project description:Pericytes, which share markers with smooth muscle cells (SMCs), are heterogenous cells. Pericytes in the brain and skeletal muscle have different embryonic origins, representing distinct subpopulations. One challenge in the field is that there are no subpopulation-specific pericyte markers. Here, we compared the transcriptomes of muscle pericytes and SMCs, and identified 741 muscle pericyte-enriched genes and 564 muscle SMC-enriched genes. Gene ontology analysis uncovered distinct biological processes and molecular functions in muscle pericytes and SMCs. Interestingly, the Venn diagram revealed only one gene shared by brain and muscle pericytes, suggesting that they are indeed distinct subpopulations with different transcriptional profiles. We further validated that GSN co-localized with PDGFRβ+SMA- cells in small and large blood vessels but not PDGFRβ+SMA+ cells, indicating that GSN predominantly marks pericytes and fibroblasts rather than SMCs in skeletal muscle. Negligible levels of GSN were detected in the brain. These findings indicate that GSN may serve as a selective marker for muscle pericytes.
Project description:BackgroundPericytes, a type of mural cells, exert important functions in the CNS. One major challenge in pericyte research is the lack of pericyte-specific and subpopulation-specific markers.MethodsTo address this knowledge gap, we first generated a novel transgenic mouse line in which vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs) are permanently labeled with tdTomato. Next, we isolated PDGFRβ+tdTomato- pericytes and PDGFRβ+tdTomato+ vSMCs from the brains of these mice and subsequently performed RNAseq analysis to identify pericyte-enriched genes.ResultsUsing this approach, we successfully identified 40 pericyte-enriched genes and 158 vSMC-enriched genes, which are involved in different biological processes and molecular functions. Using ISH/IHC analysis, we found that Pla1a and Cox4i2 were predominantly enriched in subpopulations of brain pericytes, although they also marked some non-vascular parenchymal cells.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that Pla1a and Cox4i2 preferably label subpopulations of pericytes in the brain compared to vSMCs, and thus, they may be useful in distinguishing these populations.
Project description:Background: Pericytes regulate vessel stabilization and function and their loss is associated with diseases such as diabetic retinopathy or cancer. Despite their physiological importance, pericyte function and molecular regulation during angiogenesis remain poorly understood. Methods: To decipher the transcriptomic programs of pericytes during angiogenesis, we crossed the Pdgfrb(BAC)-CreERT2 into the RiboTagflox/flox mice. Pericyte morphological changes were assessed in mural cell-specific R26-mTmG reporter mice, in which low doses of tamoxifen allowed labeling of single cell pericytes at high resolution. To study the role of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling in pericyte biology during angiogenesis, we used genetic mouse models which allow selective inactivation of PI3Kα and PI3Kβ isoforms and their negative regulator PTEN (phosphate and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome ten, PTEN) in mural cells. Results: At the onset of angiogenesis, pericytes exhibit molecular traits of cell proliferation and activated PI3K signaling, whereas during vascular remodeling pericytes upregulate genes involved in mature pericyte cell function, together with a remarkable decrease in PI3K signaling. Immature pericytes showed stellate shape and high proliferation, and mature pericytes were quiescent and elongated. Unexpectedly, we demonstrate that the PI3Kβ, but not PI3Kα, regulates pericyte proliferation and maturation during vessel formation. Genetic PI3Kβ inactivation in pericytes triggered early pericyte maturation. Conversely, unleashing PI3K signaling by means of PTEN deletion delayed pericyte maturation. Pericyte maturation was necessary to undergo vessel remodeling during angiogenesis. Conclusions: Our results identify new molecular and morphological traits associated to pericyte maturation and uncover PI3Kβ activity as a checkpoint to ensure appropriate vessel formation. In turn, our results may open new therapeutic opportunities to regulate angiogenesis in pathological processes through the manipulation of pericyte PI3Kβ activity.
Project description:We performed single cell and bulk RNA-seq analyses on pdgfrb-positive cells to identify candidate pericyte-expressed genes. For bulk RNA-seq, we used wild type pdgfrb-positive samples from Series GSE152759 (GEO ID: GSM4625924, GSM4625925, GSM4625926) for comparison to mutant pdgfrb-positive cells in this Series. These cells had originally been isolated in parallel.
Project description:Proteomics analysis can reveal the differences of protein expression between mural cells (known as pericytes) from normal adjacent tissues (NPC) and tumors (TPC), implying the effectiveness of pericyte to tumor.
Project description:Brain pericytes are one of the critical cell types that regulate endothelial barrier function and activity, thus ensuring adequate blood flow to the brain. The genetic pathways guiding undifferentiated cells into mature pericytes are not well understood. We show here that pericyte precursor populations from both neural crest and head mesoderm of zebrafish express the transcription factor nkx3.1 develop into brain pericytes. We identify the gene signature of these precursors and show that an nkx3.1-, foxf2a-, and cxcl12b-expressing pericyte precursor population is present around the basilar artery prior to artery formation and pericyte recruitment. The precursors later spread throughout the brain and differentiate to express canonical pericyte markers. Cxcl12b-Cxcr4 signaling is required for pericyte attachment and differentiation. Further, both nkx3.1 and cxcl12b are necessary and sufficient in regulating pericyte number as loss inhibits and gain increases pericyte number. Through genetic experiments, we have defined a precursor population for brain pericytes and identified genes critical for their differentiation. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Project description:The efficacy of T cell-based immunotherapies is limited by the immune-suppressive tumor environment mediated by hypoxia, arising from dysfunctional blood vessels. Normalizing the tumor vascular bed can translate into an immune-supportive microenvironment. Here, we show that targeting pericytes to achieve durable vessel normalization can improve immunotherapy outcomes. Specifically, we identified regulator of G protein signaling 5 (RGS5) as a master regulator of tumor pericyte differentiation. Loss of RGS5 function changes the tumor microenvironment by inducing pericyte quiescence and maturity via Rho kinase activation and expression of contractile proteins. The mature pericyte state affords highly sustained vascular changes, which profoundly facilitates anti-tumor immune activity. Importantly, we show that selective low dose therapeutics can induce pericyte maturity and contractility, which mimics genetic RGS5 loss in both mouse and human tumors. Low dose drug therapy durably changes the tumor microenvironment without inducing adaptive resistance, rendering malignant cells more sensitive to immunotherapies. Our findings create a new approach with highly translatable opportunities to improve the outcomes of immune combination therapies.
Project description:Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are generated by back-splicing and control cellular signaling and phenotypes. Pericytes stabilize the capillary structure and play an important role in the formation and maintenance of new blood vessels. Here, we characterized hypoxia-regulated circRNAs in human pericytes and showed that circPLOD2 is induced by hypoxia and regulates pericyte functions. Silencing of circPLOD2 increased pericyte proliferation, endothelial-pericyte interactions and tube formation. Transcriptional profiling of circPLOD2-depleted cells and epigenomic analyses revealed widespread changes in gene expression and identified the regulation of the transcription factor KLF4 as a key effector of these changes. Importantly, overexpression of KLF4 was sufficient to reverse the effects on pericyte proliferation and endothelial-pericyte interactions observed after circPLOD2 depletion. Together, these data reveal a novel function of circPLOD2 in the control of pericyte proliferation and capillary formation and show that circPLOD2-mediated regulation of KLF4 significantly contributes to the transcriptional response to hypoxia.