The tumor pericyte and its role in tumor angiogenesis

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Pericytes are important support cells that stabilize capillaries in the healthy organism. Interactions between pericytes and the endothelium are loose in tumors, which is thought to enhance the leakiness and fragility of intratumor blood vessels. Pericytes are of great interest for the normalization of tumor vessels, an approach that might enhance the effect of circulating chemotherapeutics, or, alternatively, the destabilization of vessels that are protected against anti-angiogenic treatment. Here, we plan to investigate the dynamic behavior, fate and expression profile of pericytes in animal models of cancer. Genetic approaches in mice will be used for these studies as well as the functional characterization of Notch signaling in the tumor vasculature.