Central nervous system diseases involving the parenchymal microvessels are frequently associated with a ‘microvasculopathy’, which includes different levels of neurovascular unit (NVU) dysfunction, including blood–brain barrier alterations. To contribute to the understanding of NVU responses to pathological noxae, we have focused on one of its cellular components, the microvascular pericytes, highlighting unique features of brain pericytes with the aid of the analyses carried out during vascularization of human developing neocortex and in human gliomas. Thanks to their position, centred within the endothelial/glial partition of the vessel basal lamina and therefore inserted between endothelial cells and the perivascular and vessel-associated components (astrocytes, oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs)/NG2-glia, microglia, macrophages, nerve terminals), pericytes fulfil a central role within the microvessel NVU. Indeed, at this critical site, pericytes have a number of direct and extracellular matrix molecule- and soluble factor-mediated functions, displaying marked phenotypical and functional heterogeneity and carrying out multitasking services. This pericytes heterogeneity is primarily linked to their position in specific tissue and organ microenvironments and, most importantly, to their ontogeny. During ontogenesis, pericyte subtypes belong to two main embryonic germ layers, mesoderm and (neuro)ectoderm, and are therefore expected to be found in organs ontogenetically different, nonetheless, pericytes of different origin may converge and colonize neighbouring areas of the same organ/apparatus. Here, we provide a brief overview of the unusual roles played by forebrain pericytes in the processes of angiogenesis and barriergenesis by virtue of their origin from midbrain neural crest stem cells. A better knowledge of the ontogenetic subpopulations may support the understanding of specific interactions and mechanisms involved in pericyte function/dysfunction, including normal and pathological angiogenesis, thereby offering an alternative perspective on cell subtype-specific therapeutic approaches.

中文翻译：

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神经嵴细胞衍生的周细胞在人类新皮质发育和神经胶质瘤中充当促血管生成细胞

涉及实质微血管的中枢神经系统疾病通常与“微血管病变”有关，其中包括不同程度的神经血管单元 (NVU) 功能障碍，包括血脑屏障改变。为了有助于理解 NVU 对病理性 noxae 的反应，我们专注于其细胞成分之一，微血管周细胞，借助在人类发育中的新皮层和人类神经胶质瘤的血管化过程中进行的分析，突出了脑周细胞的独特特征. 由于它们的位置，在血管基底层的内皮/神经胶质分区内居中，因此插入在内皮细胞和血管周围和血管相关成分（星形胶质细胞、少突胶质细胞前体细胞 (OPCs)/NG2-神经胶质、小胶质细胞、巨噬细胞、神经末梢），周细胞在微血管 NVU 中发挥核心作用。事实上，在这个关键部位，周细胞具有许多直接和细胞外基质分子和可溶性因子介导的功能，显示出明显的表型和功能异质性，并执行多任务服务。这种周细胞异质性主要与它们在特定组织和器官微环境中的位置有关，最重要的是与它们的个体发育有关。在个体发育过程中，周细胞亚型属于两个主要胚胎胚层，中胚层和（神经）外胚层，因此预计会在个体发育不同的器官中发现，尽管如此，不同来源的周细胞可能会聚并定植于同一器官/装置的邻近区域. 这里，我们简要概述了前脑周细胞由于源自中脑神经嵴干细胞而在血管生成和屏障生成过程中发挥的不寻常作用。更好地了解个体遗传亚群可能有助于理解周细胞功能/功能障碍所涉及的特定相互作用和机制，包括正常和病理性血管生成，从而为细胞亚型特异性治疗方法提供另一种视角。