The premetastatic niche formed by primary tumor-derived molecules contributes to fixation of cancer metastasis. The design of efficient therapies is limited by the current lack of knowledge about the details of cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the premetastatic niche formation. Recently, the role of pericytes in the premetastatic niche formation and lung metastatic tropism was explored by using state-of-the-art techniques, including lineage-tracing and mice with pericyte-specific KLF4 deletion. Strikingly, genetic inactivation of KLF4 in pericytes inhibits pulmonary pericyte expansion and decreases metastasis in the lung. Here, we summarize and evaluate recent advances in the understanding of pericyte contribution to premetastatic niche formation..

Platelets are released from megakaryocytes. The bone marrow has been proposed to be the major site where this process occurs. Lefrançais et al. (2017) using state-of-the-art techniques including two-photon microscopy, in vivo lineage-tracing technologies, and sophisticated lung transplants reveal that the lung is also a primary site for platelet biogenesis. Strikingly, lung megakaryocytes can completely reconstitute platelet counts in the blood in mice with thrombocytopenia. This study also shows that hematopoietic progenitors, with capacity to repopulate the bone marrow after irradiation, are present in the lungs. This work brings a novel unexpected role for the lung as a niche for hematopoiesis. The emerging knowledge from this research may be important for the treatment of several disorders.

Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain cancer in adults, with poor prognosis. The blood-brain barrier limits the arrival of several promising anti-glioblastoma drugs, and restricts the design of efficient therapies. Recently, by using state-of-the-art technologies, including thymidine kinase targeting system in combination with glioblastoma xenograft mouse models, it was revealed that targeting glioblastoma-derived pericytes improves chemotherapy efficiency. Strikingly, ibrutinib treatment enhances chemotherapeutic effectiveness, by targeting pericytes, improving blood-brain barrier permeability, and prolonging survival. This study identifies glioblastoma-derived pericyte as a novel target in the brain tumor microenvironment during carcinogenesis. Here, we summarize and evaluate recent advances in the understanding of pericyte's role in the glioblastoma microenvironment.

Mental health outcome measurement is conflicted between two different schools of thought which underlie the division between standardised (nomothetic) and individualised or patient-generated (idiographic) measures. The underpinning philosophies of both approaches have very different starting points in terms of how we understand the world. And yet the strengths of both may contribute something useful for patients and mental health services. We suggest a convergence of approaches with new thinking on options for co-habitation.

Spinal cord injury results in locomotor impairment attributable to the formation of an inhibitory fibrous scar, which prevents axonal regeneration after trauma. The scarcity of knowledge about the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in scar formation after spinal cord lesion impede the design of effective therapies. Recent studies, by using state-of-the-art technologies, including genetic tracking and blockage of pericytes in combination with optogenetics, reveal that pericyte blockage facilitates axonal regeneration and neuronal integration into the local neural circuitry. Strikingly, a pericyte subset is essential during scarring after spinal cord injury, and its arrest results in motor performance improvement. The arising knowledge from current research will contribute to novel approaches to develop therapies for spinal cord injury. We review novel advances in our understanding of pericyte biology in the spinal cord.