ArticleNature protocols2021
Imaging and optogenetic modulation of vascular mural cells in the live brain.
Article in Nature protocols, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Programming Brain Cell-Type-Selective Delivery In Vivo with Transporter-Guided Therapeutics.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Intravital calcium imaging of meningeal macrophages reveals niche-specific dynamics and aberrant responses to brain hyperexcitability.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Importance of ultradian oscillations in neurogenesis during development and its implications for spinal cord regeneration.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Review
- High-resolution vasomotion analysis reveals novel arteriole physiological features and progressive modulation of cerebral vascular networks by stroke.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2024Article
- General Post-Regulation Strategy of AIEgens' Photophysical Properties for Intravital Two-Photon Fluorescence Imaging.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Noninvasive in vivo microscopy of single neutrophils in the mouse brain via NIR-II fluorescent nanomaterials.Nature protocols · 2024Review
- Updated Toolbox for Assessing Neuronal Network Reconstruction after Cell Therapy.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Single-cell transcriptional landscape of long non-coding RNAs orchestrating mouse heart development.Cell death & disease · 2023Article
- Single celliScience · 2023Article
- From static to dynamic: live observation of the support system after ischemic stroke by two photon-excited fluorescence laser-scanning microscopy.Neural regeneration research · 2023Review
- The Rare Marine Bioactive Compounds in Neurological Disorders and Diseases: Is the Blood-Brain Barrier an Obstacle or a Target?Marine drugs · 2023Review
- In vivo methods for imaging blood-brain barrier function and dysfunction.European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2023Review
- The post-arteriole transitional zone: a specialized capillary region that regulates blood flow within the CNS microvasculature.The Journal of physiology · 2023Review
- cGMP Signaling in the Neurovascular Unit-Implications for Retinal Ganglion Cell Survival in Glaucoma.Biomolecules · 2022Review
- Pathological changes within the cerebral vasculature in Alzheimer's disease: New perspectives.Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Human-in-the-Loop Optimization of Transcranial Electrical Stimulation at the Point of Care: A Computational Perspective.Brain sciences · 2022Article
- Article
- Advances in brain barriers and brain fluids research in 2021: great progress in a time of adversity.Fluids and barriers of the CNS · 2022Article
- Behavioral and physiological monitoring for awake neurovascular coupling experiments: a how-to guide.Neurophotonics · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Mural cells (smooth muscle cells and pericytes) are integral components of brain blood vessels that play important roles in vascular formation, blood-brain barrier maintenance, and regulation of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). These cells are implicated in conditions ranging from developmental vascular disorders to age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Here we present complementary tools for cell labeling with transgenic mice and organic dyes that allow high-resolution intravital imaging of the different mural cell subtypes. We also provide detailed methodologies for imaging of spontaneous and neural activity-evoked calcium transients in mural cells. In addition, we describe strategies for single- and two-photon optogenetics that allow manipulation of the activity of individual and small clusters of mural cells. Together with measurements of diameter and flow in individual brain microvessels, calcium imaging and optogenetics allow the investigation of pericyte and smooth muscle cell physiology and their role in regulating rCBF. We also demonstrate the utility of these tools to investigate mural cells in the context of Alzheimer's disease and cerebral ischemia mouse models. Thus, these methods can be used to reveal the functional and structural heterogeneity of mural cells in vivo, and allow detailed cellular studies of the normal function and pathophysiology of mural cells in a variety of disease models. The implementation of this protocol can take from several hours to days depending on the intended applications.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.