Neurovascular pericytes in development and brain regeneration

大脑负责身体四分之一的新陈代谢，因此由广泛的血管网络灌注。周细胞围绕这些血管并与神经元、神经胶质、免疫细胞和神经血管单位的神经干细胞相互作用。周细胞影响大脑发育、功能和再生，但仍然是个谜。本项目研究周细胞发育的分子调控、周细胞与邻近细胞的功能偶联以及周细胞在组织再生中的功能。我们的目标是在大脑发育，结构，功能和进化方面产生新的基础知识。这里产生的新知识可能会导致干细胞生物学，组织工程，再生和大脑老化的未来方法。

The brain is responsible for a quarter of the body’s metabolism and is thus perfused by an extensive network of blood vessels. Pericytes surround these vessels and interact with neurons, glia, immune cells and neural stem cells of the neurovascular unit. Pericytes influence brain development, function and regeneration but remain enigmatic. This project investigates molecular control of pericyte development, functional coupling of pericytes with adjacent cells and pericyte function in tissue regeneration. We aim to produce new fundamental knowledge in brain development, structure, function and evolution. New knowledge generated here may lead to future approaches in stem cell biology, tissue engineering, regeneration and ageing of the brain.