We recently published a study that examines the physical interaction between the two cell types that make up capillaries throughout the body: Pericytes and endothelial cells. Pericyte-endothelial interaction is essential to many vascular functions in the brain, including regulation of blood flow, blood-brain barrier integrity and vascular remodeling.1-6 For decades, two-dimensional electron microscopy (2D-EM) has been used to examine pericyte and endothelial cell ultrastructure. However, 2D-EM fails to capture the true morphology and detailed interaction between these cells. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to apply elegant 3D-EM techniques to study interdigitations between pericytes and endothelial cells, i.e., “peg-and-socket” interactions, which serve as hotspots for their communication.
Read more about the study here.