Table 1.
Pericyte identification.
| Classic pericyte markers | References | |
|---|---|---|
| PDGFR-β | (1) Surface protein that outlines the contour of the cell;(2) First existing pericyte marker during embryogenesis;(3) Labels relatively immature pericytes and VSMCs in CNS;(4) Dynamic expressions in brain injuries | Armulik et al.3Junget al.17Goritz et al.127Kyyriainen et al.18 |
| NG2 | (1) Integral membrane proteoglycan;(2) First appears as a pericyte marker at E11.5; Expression in OPCs starts from E16 ;(3) Stimulates proliferation and migration of pericytes. | Zhu et al.19Yotsumoto et al.112Jung et al.17 |
| α-SMA | (1) Microfilaments in VSMCs and a subset of pericytes;(2) Exists as a pericyte marker after birth;(3) Positive expression in pre-capillary mural cells. May negative in capillary pericytes.(4) In combination of morphology may help distinguish capillary pericytes from pre-capillary mural cells | Jung et al.17Grant et al.1Hartmann et al.21 |
| Desmin | (1) Intermediate microfilament;(2) As pericyte marker throughout embryogenesis;(3) Labels mature pericytes and VSMCs in CNS; canonical marker of muscle cells;(4) May also be expressed in activated astrocytes in brain injury; | Armulik et al.3Jung et al.17Jung et al.17Choi et al.26Kelly-Goss et al.25 |
| CD13 | (1) Aminopeptidase N;(2) Exists as a pericyte marker after birth at P6;(3) Does not label pericytes in lung. | Hartmann et al.21Jung et al.17Vanlandewijck et al.22 |
| RGS5 | Labels angiogenic capillary pericytes; | Mitchellet al.28 |
| Endosialin(CD248) receptor | Labels angiogenic capillary pericytes; | Simonavicius et al.35 |
| CD146 | Labels pericytes from E11, and may coordinate EC-pericyte interaction; | Chen et al.30 |
| New pericyte markers | ||
| VTN/Ifitm-1 | Labels capillary pericytes; | He et al.6 |
| NeuroTrace 500/525 | Absorbed by capillary pericytes ; | Damisah et al.27 and Grant et al.1 |
| Transgenicpericytesmice | ||
| Pdgfrbret/ret | PDGF-B-truncating mutation | Moura et al.151 |
| Pdgfrb-CreER mice | Tamoxifen-inducible Cre-recombinase under the control of the Pdgfrb promoter | |
| (1) Pdgfrb-P2A-CreERT2 | express Cre-ERT2 from the endogenous Pdgfrb promoter | Cuervo et al.152 |
| (2) Pdgfrb(BAC)-CreERT2 | Pdgfrb gene from BACf library | Eilken et al.36 |
| Pdgfrb-Cre mice + fluorescent protein reporter | Show the continuous contour of the mural cells | |
| (1) Pdgfrb-eGFP mice | Jung et al.17 and He et al.6 | |
| (2) Pdgfrb-tdTomato mice | Grant et al.1 | |
| (3) Pdgfrb-YFP mice | Berthiaume et al.82 | |
| Pdgfrb-Cre-ChR2 mice | Optogenetic stimulation cause capillary constriction | Hartmann et al.7 and Kisleret al.103 |
| NG2-CreER™ BAC transgenic mice | Eilken et al.36 | |
| NG2-CreER mice +fluorescent protein reporter | Display the structure of individual mural cells | Jung et al.17 and He et al.6 |
| (1) NG2-DsRed mice | ||
| (2) NG2-tdTomato | Grant et al.1 and Berthiaume et al.82 | |
| NG2-Cre-ChR2 mice | Optogenetic stimulation cause arteriole constriction | Hill et al.8 |
| Hey1-GFP (Tg(Hey1-EGFP)ID40Gsat) reporter mice | Label immature pericytes at angiogenic front | Eilken et al.36 |
| Tbx18 | Labels all PCs, regardless of subsets of pericytes; | Guimaraes-Camboa, et al.9 |
PDGFR-β: Platelet derived growth factor receptor beta; NG2: neural/glial antigen 2; RGS5: regulator of G-protein signaling 5; VTN/Ifitm-1:vitronectin/interferon-induced transmembrane protein 1; eGFP: estrogen-receptor; BAC: bacterial artificial chromosome; eGFP: enhanced green fluorescent protein; YFP: yellow fluorescent protein; ChR2: channelrhodopsin2.