Pericytes were originally discovered and named more than hundred years ago as contractile cells around the blood vessel endothelial cells. Due to the lack of exclusive markers, pericytes are now defined by a combination of location, morphology and gene expression. Pericytes are attracting increasing attention as important regulators during development and during normal and disturbed organ function. In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in the identification and characterization of pericytes subpopulations and their amazing functions using state-of-art techniques. These advantages facilitated identification of molecular basis of interaction between these cells with several other more well studied cell types, and revealed key signals derived from pericytes involved in homeostasis, regeneration, and disease regulation. In the last ten years, several unexpected roles of pericytes have been discovered. It has been demonstrated that pericytes from different tissues differ in their properties as well as functions. Even more, pericytes are heterogeneous also within the same organ. This book is will describe the major contributions of pericytes to different organs biology in physiological and pathological conditions. The book will teach the readers about this so special cell type that 10 years ago was almost completely forgotten, and it was associated basically only with vascular stability. Recently, it become a very hot topic to work in. Several articles in Nature, Science and Cell have been and are being currently published about this cell type. These recent works are revealing how important those cells are for before unimaginable biological processes. Thus, this book will update us on what are the most novel functions attributed to these cells. Also, will introduce to the young generation all the history about these cells from when they were discovered in different organs till where we are now in this field. So it will be a great book for both cell biology students as well as researchers that will have an update on these cells biology in different organs.

Autorentext
Dr. Alexander Birbrair received his bachelor's biomedical degree from Santa Cruz State University in Brazil. He completed his PhD in Neuroscience, in the field of stem cell biology, at the Wake Forest School of Medicine under the mentorship of Osvaldo Delbono. Then, he joined as a postdoc in stem cell biology at Paul Frenette's laboratory at Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York. In 2016, he was appointed faculty at Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, where he started his own lab. His laboratory is interested in understanding how the cellular components of different tissues function and control disease progression. His group explores the roles of specific cell populations in the tissue microenvironment by using state-of-the-art techniques. His research is funded by the Serrapilheira Institute, CNPq, CAPES, and FAPEMIG. In 2018, Alexander was elected affiliate member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), and, in 2019, he was elected member of the Global Young Academy (GYA). He is the Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of Current Tissue Microenvironment Reports, and Associate Editor of Molecular Biotechnology. Alexander also serves in the editorial board of several other international journals: Stem Cell Reviews and Reports, Stem Cell Research, Stem Cells and Development, and Histology and Histopathology.Affiliations and ExpertiseDepartment of Radiology, Columbia University, USA Department of Pathology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Inhalt
Chapter 1 - In Vivo Optical Imaging and Manipulation of Brain Pericytes
Andrée-Anne Berthiaume, Vanessa Coelho-Santos, David A. Hartmann, and Andy Y. Shih, University of Washington, USAAndy.Shih@SeattleChildrens.org
Chapter 2 The complex and integral roles of pericytes within the neurovascular unit in health and diseaseBrad A. Sutherland, University of Tasmania, Australiabrad.sutherland@utas.edu.au
Chapter 3 Role of pericytes in brain metastasisYoichi Morofujia, Shinsuke Nakagawab, Takashi Fujimotoa, Susumu Yamaguchia, Kenta Ujifukua, and Takayuki Matsuoa, Nagasaki University, Japanyoichi51@hotmail.commorofujiyoichi@gmail.com
Chapter 4 Effects of Cytomegalovirus on PericytesDonald J. Alcendor, Meharry Medical College, USAdalcendor@mmc.edu
Chapter 5 - Pericytes in Retinal IschemiaLuis Alarcon-Martinez, Gülce Küreli, and Turgay Dalkara, Hacettepe University, Turkeytdalkara@hacettepe.edu.tr
Chapter 6 Inflammatory mediators released by brain pericytes as sensors and effectors in blood-brain barrier dysfunctionShinya Dohgu, Fuyuko Takata, and Yasufumi Kataoka, Fukuoka University, Japanykataoka@fukuoka-u.ac.jp
Chapter 7 TLR-4 signaling in PericytesAlessandra Stasi, Rossana Franzin, Giuseppe Stefano Netti, Elena Ranieri, Loreto Gesualdo, Giovanni Stallone, and Giuseppe Castellano, University of Foggia, Italygiuseppe.castellano@unifg.it
Chapter 8 EphA7+ Multipotent Pericytes and Their Roles in Multicellular OrganismsJun-ichi Kawabe, Asahikawa Medical University, Japankawabeju@asahikawa-med.ac.jp
Chapter 9 - Skeletal Muscle-Resident Pericyte Responses to Conditions of Use and DisuseMichael Munroe, Svyatoslav Dvoretskiy, and Marni D. Boppart, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USAmboppart@illinois.edu
Chapter 10 - Pericytes in myocardial diseasesLinda Alex, Izabela Tuleta, and Nikolaos G Frangogiannis, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USAnikolaos.frangogiannis@einsteinmed.org
Chapter 11 - Adventitial and skeletal muscle pericytes in health and in ischemic tissue regeneration
A. Rampin, P. Campagnolo, V. Mastrullo, P. Madeddu, and G. Spinetti, University of Bristol, UKgaia.spinetti@multimedica.itmadeddu@yahoo.com, paolo.madeddu@bristol.ac.uk