Rat Brain Vascular Pericytes (RBVP)

Description

Product Description

Brain Vascular Pericytes (BVP) are perivascular cells that are closely associated with the endothelium of capillaries and other small vessels ^[1]. BVP, located between endothelial cells and astrocytes in the brain, communicate with other cells by extending long cytoplasmic processes which wrap around the capillaries ^{[1, 2]}. BVP participate in a variety of processes including angiogenesis, endothelial cell survival, regulation of capillary blood flow, and establishment and maintenance of the blood-brain barrier ^[3,4]. Pericyte dysregulation has been linked to several pathological conditions such as hypertension, diabetic retinopathy, atherosclerosis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and tumor angiogenesis ^{[2, 4]}. The unique and diverse functions of BVP make them novel candidates for cell therapy in regenerative medicine. Cultured primary rat BVP (RBVP) are a useful in vitro model for understanding the molecular mechanisms of blood-brain barrier regulation and for studying a wide variety of central nervous system diseases.

iXCells Biotechnologies provides high quality Rat Brain Vascular Pericytes (RBVP), which are isolated from adult rat  brain and cryopreserved at P2, with ≥ 0.5 million cells in each vial. MBVP express Neural/glial antigen 2 (NG2) and α-smooth muscle actin. They are negative for HIV-1, HBV, HCV, mycoplasma, bacteria, yeast, and fungi and can further expand no more than 3 passages in Rat Pericyte Growth Medium (Cat# MD-0030) under the condition suggested by iXCells Biotechnologies. Additional expansion may decrease the purity and proliferation rate.

Figure 1. Phase contrast image of Rat Brain Vascular Pericytes (RBVP).

Product Details

Tissue	Adult rat brain
Package Size	0.5 million cells/vial
Passage Number	P2
Shipped	Cryopreserved
Storage	Liquid nitrogen
Growth Properties	Adherent
Media	Pericyte Growth Medium (Cat# MD-0030)

 

References

[1] Dore-Duffy P, Cleary K. (2011) “Morphology and properties of pericytes.” Methods Mol Biol. 686:49-68.

[2] Allt G, Lawrenson JG. (2001) “Pericytes: cell biology and pathology.” Cells Tissues Organs. 169: 1-11.

[3] Daneman R, Zhou L, Kebede A, Barres B. (2010) “Pericytes are required for blood-brain barrier integrity during embryogenesis.” Nature. 468:562-566.

[4] Kutcher M, Herman I. (2009) “The pericyte: cellular regulator of microvascular blood flow.” Microvasc Res. 77: 235-246.

 

 Download Datasheet