Fig 5.

Modulation of pericyte recruitment in the aortic ring model. The number of pericytes recruited by microvessels in the aortic ring model can be increased by treating the cultures with the angiogenic regulators Ang1 and Ang-2 or the chemokine MCP-1. Enhanced pericyte recruitment is also obtained by transducing the aortic cultures with an adenoviral vector carrying MKK6, an upstream activator of p38 MAPK. Pericyte recruitment is inhibited by blocking PDGF B (anti-PDGF-B Ab), Ang-1 (Tie2 Fc) or the p38 MAPK pathway (AdDN p38). Reduction in pericytes is also obtained with heparin or by siRNA-mediated knockdown of the cell adhesion molecule N-cadherin.