ArticleNature2014
Capillary pericytes regulate cerebral blood flow in health and disease.
Article in Nature, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04569604 (Impaired Quality of Life and Cognitive Function in Patients With Hypoparathyroidism Might be Explained by Disturbed Capillary Flow Patterns in the Brain), which is not on this map. Cited by 1,115 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Impaired Quality of Life and Cognitive Function in Patients With Hypoparathyroidism Might be Explained by Disturbed Capillary Flow Patterns in the Brain
Who cites it
1,115 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 1,831 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between the no-reflow phenomenon and clinical outcomes after endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.European stroke journal · 2026Pooled it
- Chemical Optimization of Cerebral Embolectomy 2 (CHOICE 2) trial: study protocol.Stroke and vascular neurology · 2026Trial
- Early disruptions in brain capillary blood flow control in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.The Journal of general physiology · 2026Article
- The sleep-deprived blood-brain barrier: Does the Brain's gatekeeper adapt or merely fail slowly?Neurobiology of sleep and circadian rhythms · 2026Review
- The Impact of Antigen Presentation on BBB Disruption and Neuroinflammation.Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Review
- Article
- Pericyte loss and endothelial activation define distinct vascular states in cerebral small vessel disease.Acta neuropathologica · 2026Article
- Extracellular vesicles: A new therapeutic drug for nerve injury repair.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- The role of pericytes in homeostasis and cardiovascular disease: A comprehensive review.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Expanding Genetic Code to Generate Human Brain Organoids with Both Vasculature and Microglia-Like Cells.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Article
- Regulation of PDGF-BB signaling in placental pericytes by soluble PDGFRβ isoforms: implications for fetoplacental vascular development.Angiogenesis · 2026Article
- VINE-seq and MultiVINE-seq for single-nucleus and multiome profiling of the brain vasculature.Nature protocols · 2026Review
- Endothelial Cell-Pericyte Crosstalk in the Brain Balances Microvascular Stability and Plasticity.Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology · 2026Review
- Neurovascular Signaling in the Perivascular Space: Biophysical Principles and Disruption in Hypertension.Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979) · 2026Review
- Construction and Applicability Scenarios of 3D Neurovascular Unit Models In Vitro.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Calcium dysregulation in neurovascular function in Alzheimer's disease: mechanisms, therapeutic targets.GeroScience · 2026Review
- Review
- Assessing molecular, cellular and transcriptomic bases of laminar perfusion and cytoarchitecture coupling in the human cortex.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Clazosentan Attenuates Endothelin-1-Induced ETA Protein Upregulation and Contractile Sensitization in Brain Pericytes.Pharmaceutics · 2026Article
1,055 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Increases in brain blood flow, evoked by neuronal activity, power neural computation and form the basis of BOLD (blood-oxygen-level-dependent) functional imaging. Whether blood flow is controlled solely by arteriole smooth muscle, or also by capillary pericytes, is controversial. We demonstrate that neuronal activity and the neurotransmitter glutamate evoke the release of messengers that dilate capillaries by actively relaxing pericytes. Dilation is mediated by prostaglandin E2, but requires nitric oxide release to suppress vasoconstricting 20-HETE synthesis. In vivo, when sensory input increases blood flow, capillaries dilate before arterioles and are estimated to produce 84% of the blood flow increase. In pathology, ischaemia evokes capillary constriction by pericytes. We show that this is followed by pericyte death in rigor, which may irreversibly constrict capillaries and damage the blood-brain barrier. Thus, pericytes are major regulators of cerebral blood flow and initiators of functional imaging signals. Prevention of pericyte constriction and death may reduce the long-lasting blood flow decrease that damages neurons after stroke.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.