Our lab has previously
shown that human pericytes, in vitro, are
able to enhance the low-tissue regenerative capacity of human epidermal cells.
Others studies have demonstrated that human pericytes are a rare perivascular population expressing a broad range of markers (i.e. VLA1,
CD146, PDGFrB, NG2, SMA). This study is focused on extending our observations
into the more tractable murine skin as a model system to examine the role of
pericytes in epidermal homeostasis. In order to characterize the mouse dermal
pericyte population in detail, we used confocal microscopy and flow cytometry
analysis and examined the spatial position and marker profile of the pericyte
population in mouse tail skin. Current studies are aimed at using an in vivo transplant model to determine whether the murine
pericyte population has a role in skin reconstitution.