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Pericytes: Form and function

Expiry Date
: 31/01/2026
CPD Units
: 3.00 Points
Rating
: Not yet rated.

Role of the pericyte in capillary blood flow regulation.

Keywords: Pericyte; Neurovascular unit; Alpha smooth muscle actin, Blood flow regulation; contractile proteins; blood brain barrier; blood retina barrier;

Reading material:

Educational Objectives

Educational Aim:
The aim of this article is to elucidate the histological identification of pericytes in brain and retina to gain a better understanding of their role in vascular regulation, maintenance of blood-brain/retina barrier, neovascularization and angiogenesis, and leukocyte transmigration.

Educational Outcomes:
Upon completion of this module practitioners should have a clear understanding of:

  1. pericyte structure and function (including their ultrastructure)

  2. the role of pericytes in maintenance of the blood -brain/retina barrier
  3. physiological roles of pericytes
  4. histological markers for the study of pericytes in the brain and retina
  5. the study of pericytes in the intact brain by high resolution in vivo imaging in transgenic reporter mice.

Instructions for this Module

  • Read the supplied reading material and complete the quiz that follows;
  • You have three attempts to pass the quiz;
  • The pass grade is 70%;
  • You need to pass the quiz to claim your CPD certificate;
  • Please click on the CPD certificate link below to claim your CPD certificate and to update your CPD Manager.

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