Pericytes News and Research

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Uptake of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in human cerebrovascular cells

A recent study assessed the uptake of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in human cerebrovascular cells via the lipid raft ganglioside.

24 Mar 2022

Low SARS-CoV-2 diabetogenicity found in infected human pancreatic cells in vitro

Researchers assessed the diabetogenic potential of SARS-CoV-2 in a single cell in vitro analysis on the pancreatic islet cells.

9 Mar 2022

Mapping cells to understand vascular disease

In this interview, we speak to Dr. Ethan Winkler and Dr. Tomasz Nowakowski about their latest research which illustrated the interplay between vascular and immune cells that contributes to brain hemorrhage.

25 Feb 2022

Researchers create a comprehensive atlas of cerebrovascular cell types

While neurons and glial cells are by far the most numerous cells in the brain, many other types of cells play important roles. Among those are cerebrovascular cells, which form the blood vessels that deliver oxygen and other nutrients to the brain.

15 Feb 2022

COVID-19 and loss of sense of smell

A recent review examines the high susceptibility of the olfactory epithelium to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

9 Nov 2021

Researchers create the first 3D-bioprinted model of active glioblastoma tumor

A scientific achievement for researchers at Tel Aviv University: printing an entire active and viable glioblastoma tumor using a 3D printer.

18 Aug 2021

Treatment with stem cell grafts promotes tendon healing in sheep

Tendon injuries in sheep that were treated with stem cell grafts achieved, in just two months, a diameter and hardness similar to the original healthy tendon, according to the results of a study released in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.

16 Aug 2021

How SARS-CoV-2 infects the brain

While there is no official explanation on how SARS-CoV-2 travels to the brain, a new review published in the journal Fluids and Barriers of the CNS concluded that there is insufficient evidence on COVID-induced neurological problems coming from a direct invasion of SARS-CoV-2 into the brain.

20 Jul 2021

Sophisticated stem cell model reveals potential route of SARS-CoV-2 entry into the brain

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine have produced a stem cell model that demonstrates a potential route of entry of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, into the human brain.

16 Jul 2021

USC study suggests new treatment target for Alzheimer's disease in people with APOE4 gene

Like amyloid plaque, the genetic variant APOE4 has long been associated with Alzheimer's disease, but still little is known about the role the gene plays in the disease process.

14 Jun 2021

Neuropathology of COVID-19 patients caused by infection of brain pericytes

Recently, researchers from the UK and Sweden used highly sensitive multiplexed immunohistochemistry to study the brain tissue of COVID-19 patients and controls to analyze ACE2 expression in brain pericytes of patients with neurological symptoms. They also used spatial immunophenotyping to assess inflammation in brain tissue of COVID-19 patients.

31 May 2021

Blood oxygen levels may explain why memory loss is an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease

In a world first, scientists from the University of Sussex have recorded blood oxygen levels in the hippocampus and provided experimental proof for why the area, commonly referred to as 'the brain's memory center', is vulnerable to damage and degeneration, a precursor to Alzheimer's disease.

29 May 2021

Malfunctioning blood-brain barrier is linked to benign forgetfulness of aging

Have you forgotten where you laid your keys? Ever wondered where you had parked your car? Or having trouble remembering the name of the new neighbor? Unfortunately, these things seem to get worse as one gets older.

19 Mar 2021

UTHSC researchers awarded $1.9 million to study white matter mechanisms underlying dementia

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has awarded two UTHSC researchers over $1.9 million to study the pathogenesis of white matter damage, a main contributing factor to dementia.

3 Mar 2021

Understanding the dynamics of brain blood flow could hold key for treating neurologic conditions

While the human brain has over 400 miles of total vasculature, little is known about the tiny capillaries that make up much of this intricate labyrinth of blood vessels critical for delivering oxygenated blood and nutrients to billions of brain cells.

19 Feb 2021

Brain pericytes serve as a potential hub for SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of scientists from the United States has recently conducted a study using pericyte-like cell-containing brain cortical organoids as an experimental model to investigate the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on the central nervous system.

11 Feb 2021

In vitro human blood-brain barrier model found to have a critical flaw

Cells used to study the human blood brain barrier in the lab aren't what they seem, throwing nearly a decade's worth of research into question, a new study from scientists at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medicine suggests.

8 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2-induces temporary loss of smell in mice

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in November 2020 presents the onset of olfactory dysfunction (loss of smell) in mice infected with the virus, examining this process at the cellular level. In doing so, this study throws more light on this curious symptom and COVID-19’s manifestations outside the lungs.

12 Nov 2020

Scientists explain why some COVID-19 patients develop neurological symptoms

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv sheds light on the mechanism behind brain involvement in the COVID-19 pandemic. A team of researchers at the Krembil Research Institute and the University of Toronto in Canada aimed to understand further the potential mechanisms underlying SARS-CoV-2 tropism for brain vasculature to see how infection occurs in the brain.

13 Oct 2020

Research provides a map of coronavirus entry factors across the human body

An infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can affect multiple organs. With this in mind, researchers of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Cornell University in the US have investigated cellular factors that could be significant for an infection.

3 Sep 2020