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Comment
. 2018 Oct 10;100(1):11-13.
doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.09.033.

Pericytes: The Brain's Very First Responders?

Victoria A Rafalski  1 , Mario Merlini  1 , Katerina Akassoglou  2
Affiliations
Comment

Pericytes: The Brain's Very First Responders?

Victoria A Rafalski et al. Neuron. .

Abstract

Infection can negatively impact brain functions. Here, Duan et al. (2018) show that specific PDGFRβ-expressing cell subtypes of the neurovascular unit release the chemokine CCL2 rapidly after systemic infection, leading to increased neural excitability.

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Conflict of interest statement

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

The authors declare financial interests potentially related to this work. K.A. is a co-founder and scientific advisor of MedaRed, Inc. Her interests are managed by the Gladstone Institutes in accordance with its conflict of interest policy.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. PDGFRβ+ cells as neuroinflammatory mediators after infection.
Within 2 hr of systemic bacterial or viral infection, two subtypes of PDGFRβ+ cells expressing either Col1a1 or Rgs5 are the major producers of the chemokine CCL2. CCL2 increases excitatory synaptic neurotransmission via the CCR2 receptor in neurons.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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