This volume explores novel concepts of pericyte biology. The present book is an attempt to describe the most recent developments in the area of pericyte biology which is one of the emergent hot topics in the field of molecular and cellular biology today. Here, we present a selected collection of detailed chapters on what we know so far about the pericytes. Together with its companion volumes Pericyte Biology in Different Organs and Pericyte Biology in Disease, Pericyte Biology - Novel Concepts presents a comprehensive update on the latest information and most novel functions attributed to pericytes. To those researchers newer to this area, it will be useful to have the background information on these cells' unique history. It will be invaluable for both advanced cell biology students as well as researchers in cell biology, stem cells and researchers or clinicians involved with specific diseases.

Alexander Birbrair received his Bachelor's Biomedical degree from Santa Cruz State University in Brazil. He moved to North Carolina, where he finished his PhD in Neuroscience under the mentorship of Osvaldo Delbono. Then, he joined as a posdoc in Stem Cell Biology at Paul Frenette's laboratory at Albert Einstein School of Medicine. In 2016, he was appointed faculty at Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, where he started his own lab. His laboratory is interested in understanding how the cellular components of different tissues function and control disease progression. His group explores the roles of specific cell populations in the tissue microenvironment by using state-of-the-art techniques. In 2018, Alexander was elected affiliate member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC).

1;Preface;5 2;Contents;7 3;Contributors;9 4;Chapter 1: Pericyte Biology: Development, Homeostasis, and Disease;11 4.1;References;12 5;Chapter 2: The NG2 Proteoglycan in Pericyte Biology;14 5.1;Introduction;15 5.2;NG2 as a Pericyte Marker;15 5.3;Mechanisms of NG2 Action;18 5.4;NG2-Dependent Aspects of Pericyte Function;18 5.5;Future Prospects;23 5.6;References;24 6;Chapter 3: Pericytes for Therapeutic Bone Repair;29 6.1;Introduction;30 6.2;Identification and Purification of Perivascular Cells for Bone Repair;31 6.3;Pericytes and Ectopic Bone Formation;32 6.4;Pericytes in Calvarial Defect Regeneration;33 6.5;Pericytes in Spinal Fusion;34 6.6;Pericytes for Non-union Fracture Healing;34 6.7;Discussion;35 6.8;References;37 7;Chapter 4: Pericyte Biology in Zebrafish;41 7.1;Early Development of the Zebrafish Vascular System;42 7.1.1;Zebrafish as a Model for Studying Blood Vessel Development;42 7.2;Developmental Origin of Pericytes in Zebrafish;43 7.2.1;Determining the Origin of Cerebral Pericytes Using Mutants and Morphants;43 7.2.2;Lineage Tracing of Cerebral Pericytes Using Transgenic Zebrafish;43 7.3;Developmental Origins of Trunk Pericytes;44 7.3.1;Determining the Origin of Trunk Pericytes Using Mutants and Morphants;44 7.3.2;Lineage Tracing of Trunk Pericytes Using Transgenic Zebrafish;45 7.4;Spatiotemporal Pericyte Marker Expression in the Developing Zebrafish Brain;45 7.5;Spatiotemporal Pericyte Marker Expression in the Developing Trunk Vasculature;47 7.6;Pericyte Recruitment to the Endothelium;49 7.6.1;Haemodynamic Forces Are Required to Recruit Pericytes to the Endothelium;49 7.6.2;Mural Cell Migration After Recruitment;50 7.7;Signalling Pathways Involved in Mural Cell Development, Differentiation and Recruitment;50 7.7.1;Sonic Hedgehog Signalling Is Required for Pericyte Development;50 7.7.2;TGF?/BMP Is Involved in Pericyte Development;51 7.7.3;Notch Signalling Regulates Mural Cell Development and Recruitment;51 7.7.4;PDGF Signalling Recruits Mural Cells to Vessels;52 7.8;Pericytes in Zebrafish Organs;52 7.8.1;Pericytes in the Zebrafish Eye;52 7.8.2;Mural Cells in the Visceral System;53 7.8.3;Mural Cell Expression in the Developing Heart;53 7.9;Zebrafish Models of Disease Involving Pericytes;53 7.9.1;Notch3 and CADASIL;53 7.9.2;Foxc1 and Foxf2 Are Involved in Mural Cell Development;54 7.10;The Role of Pericytes in Regulating Vascular Tone;54 7.11;A Novel Population of Perivascular Mural Cells in the Zebrafish Brain;55 7.12;Future Perspectives on Zebrafish Pericyte Research;56 7.13;References;56 8;Chapter 5: The Microvascular Pericyte: Approaches to Isolation, Characterization, and Cultivation;60 8.1;Introduction;60 8.1.1;Cell Isolation and Separation: Basic Considerations;61 8.2;Preparing for Pericyte Isolation;62 8.2.1;Digestion/Homogenization of Solid Tissues for Preparation of Single Cell Homogenates;62 8.2.2;Isolation of Pericytes from Single Cell Homogenates;63 8.2.2.1;Immuno-panning;63 8.2.2.2;MACS;64 8.2.3;Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS);64 8.2.4;The Subculture of Pericytes from Purified Preparations of Cerebral Microvessels;65 8.3;Generation of Pericyte Lines;66 8.4;References;69 9;Chapter 6: Pericytes in Veterinary Species: Prospective Isolation, Characterization and Tissue Regeneration Potential;73 9.1;Introduction;74 9.2;Prospective Isolation of Pericytes from Tissues;75 9.3;Pericytes in Veterinary Species;75 9.4;Horse;76 9.5;Dog;77 9.6;Sheep;78 9.7;Pig;78 9.8;Conclusions and Future Directions;79 9.9;References;80 10;Chapter 7: Pericytes in the Human Vocal Fold Mucosa;84 10.1;Introduction;85 10.2;Vascular Network of the Human Vocal Fold Mucosa as a Vibrating Tissue;85 10.3;Microstructure of the Blood Vessels and Pericytes in the Human Vocal Fold Mucosa;86 10.3.1;Arterioles;86 10.3.2;Capillaries;88 10.3.3;Venules;89 10.4;Development of the Blood Vessels and Pericytes in the Human Vocal Fold Mucosa;90 10.5;Physiological Significances of the Vascular Network and Pericytes in the Human Vocal Fold Mucosa;91