What is NG2 a marker for?
NG2 is frequently used as a marker for the identification and characterization of certain cell types, but little is known about the mechanisms regulating its expression.
What is Pericyte?
Pericytes, spatially isolated contractile cells on capillaries, have been reported to control cerebral blood flow physiologically, and to limit blood flow after ischaemia by constricting capillaries and then dying.
What do capillary endothelial cells do?
Endothelial cells form a single cell layer that lines all blood vessels and regulates exchanges between the bloodstream and the surrounding tissues. Endothelial cells of developing arteries and veins express different cell-surface proteins, which may control the way in which they link up to create a capillary bed.
What is NG2 cells?
NG2 cells, or polydendrocytes, are a population of CNS cells that are distinct from neurons, mature oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and microglia. They can be identified by the expression of the NG2 proteoglycan, have a highly branched morphology and are distributed throughout the grey and white matter.
What area is NG2?
Nottingham (NG2) There are 9 electoral wards in the NG2 postcode area, including Grantham, Mansfield, Newark, Nottingham, Sleaford, Southwell, Sutton-In-Ashfield which come under the local authority of the Nottingham Council.
Are pericytes in the brain?
Brain pericytes are perivascular cells that regulate capillary function, and this localization puts them in a pivotal position for the regulation of central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory responses at the neurovascular unit.
Are pericytes endothelial cells?
Endothelial cells comprise the inner lining of vessels, while pericytes encompass blood microvessels such as blood capillaries, pre-capillary arterioles, pre-capillary venules, and collecting venules (1). Pericytes use cytoplasmic processes to surround the abluminal surface of the endothelial tube (2).
What are endothelial cells of capillaries?
Endothelial cells are thin wafer-like cells joined at their borders and form the inner lining of the entire blood vascular system. In capillaries, the outer tunics of smooth muscle cells are absent and only the endothelium is present. Capillaries are often invested in pericapillary contractile cells called pericytes.
How does NG2 bind to the EC surface?
Binding of soluble NG2 to the EC surface induces cell motility and multicellular network formation in vitro and stimulates corneal angiogenesis in vivo. Biochemical data demonstrate the involvement of both galectin-3 and α3β1 integrin in the EC response to NG2 and show that NG2, galectin-3, and α3β1 form a complex on the cell surface.
Why is NG2 an important factor in angiogenesis?
In conjunction with recent studies demonstrating the early involvement of pericytes in angiogenesis, these data suggest that pericyte-derived NG2 is an important factor in promoting EC migration and morphogenesis during the early stages of neovascularization. INTRODUCTION
What is the function of NG2 in mature animals?
In mature animals NG2 expression is associated with vasculature formed during tumor development and wound healing (Schlingemann et al., 1990; Ozerdem and Stallcup, 2003).