REVIEW article

Front. Cell. Neurosci.

Sec. Non-Neuronal Cells

Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fncel.2025.1615579

This article is part of the Research TopicCerebrovasculature in Focus: bridging the gap between mental health and illnessView all 5 articles

Walking on the Tightrope: The Shared Roles of the Bridging Pericytes in the Brain

Provisionally accepted
  • 1University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  • 2Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Edinburgh Medical School, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
  • 3UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The vasculature of the central nervous system (CNS) is a highly specialised structure that delivers oxygen and nutrients to energy-demanding neural cells while protecting them from the toxicity of blood-borne substances. Pericytes, located alongside microvessels, coordinate with endothelial cells to maintain the integrity of the blood-CNS barriers and to regulate vascular responses to neural activity.Pericytes extend processes that typically wrap around or align the endothelial cells, remaining embedded within the vascular basement membrane. Occasionally, however, some of these processes detach and form bridges between separate capillaries. These bridging structures are the focus of ongoing debate. While some studies propose they serve as tunnelling nanotubes mediating neurovascular coupling, others argue they may be remnants of vascular regression or involved in the process of pericyte migration.In this review, we aim to clarify these varying interpretations of bridging pericyte processes and provide a unified understanding to guide future research. We discuss their reported roles in both CNS health and disease, highlighting their potential significance in vascular ageing and rejuvenation.

Keywords: Pericytes, Brain, Capillaries, Bridging cells, tunnelling nanotubes, pericyte migration, Vascular regression

Received: 23 Apr 2025; Accepted: 10 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Chagnot and Montagne. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Audrey Chagnot, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Axel Montagne, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

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