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Sinusoidal remodeling and angiogenesis: A new function for the liver‐specific pericyte?
Author(s) -
Lee June Sung,
Semela David,
Iredale John,
Shah Vijay H.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.21564
Subject(s) - pericyte , angiogenesis , function (biology) , tissue remodeling , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , medicine , endothelial stem cell , biochemistry , inflammation , in vitro
Pericyte is a term for vascular mural cells that make specific focal contacts with the endothelium within the microvasculature.1 For a long time, the existence and role of pericytes were neglected, but during recent years these cells have gained increasing attention, not only as contractile cells but also as obligatory regulators of vascular development, stabilization, maturation, and remodeling. Intimate interactions between pericytes and endothelial cells are reflected by observations that impairment of either of these vessel wall cell types inevitably affects the other. Pericytes also reside in liver, where they maintain specialized functions. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are thought to be the pericyte equivalent in the liver.2 Much of our understanding of HSC function is derived from the broader function of pericytes in vascular beds outside the liver. In liver, HSC are well established as collagen-producing cells but are being increasingly recognized for their role in angiogenesis and vascular remodeling, processes that are particularly important in cancer and portal hypertension. This review highlights new advances in pericyte biology that are relevant to angiogenesis and vascular remodeling and places them in the context of HSC and liver pathobiology.