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Microvascular pericytes are of key importance in neoformation of blood vessels, in stabilization of newly formed vessels as well as maintenance of angiostasis in resting tissues. Furthermore, pericytes are capable of differentiating into pro-fibrotic collagen type I producing fibroblasts. The present study investigates the effects of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) on pericyte proliferation, cell viability, migration and differentiation. The results show that HDAC inhibition through exposure of pericytes to VPA in vitro causes the inhibition of pericyte proliferation and migration with no effect on cell viability. Pericyte exposure to the potent HDAC inhibitor Trichostatin A caused similar effects on pericyte proliferation, migration and cell viability. HDAC inhibition also inhibited pericyte differentiation into collagen type I producing fibroblasts. Given the importance of pericytes in blood vessel biology a qPCR array focusing on the expression of mRNAs coding for proteins that regulate angiogenesis was performed. The results showed that HDAC inhibition promoted transcription of genes involved in vessel stabilization/maturation in human microvascular pericytes. The present in vitro study demonstrates that VPA influences several aspects of microvascular pericyte biology and suggests an alternative mechanism by which HDAC inhibition affects blood vessels. The results raise the possibility that HDAC inhibition inhibits angiogenesis partly through promoting a pericyte phenotype associated with stabilization/maturation of blood vessels.

Pericytes are cells of mesenchymal origin located on the abluminal side, juxtapositioned to the endothelial cells in capillaries, venules and small arterioles. They are important for maintaining vessel integrity in resting tissues as well as the formation and stabilization of new vessels. They have been suggested to function as mesenchymal stem cells thereby contributing to the connective tissue cell population in reactive tissues. In this thesis the role of pericytes as progenitors for fibroblasts was further defined both in vitro and in vivo. In the first study connective tissue cells of mesenchymal origin were investigated based on their marker expression and relation to the microvasculature. The expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), a marker for myofibroblasts, was compared to the expression of certain integrins in three reactive conditions in human tissues. There was a co-localization of α-SMA and α1β1 integrins, indicating that α1 integrin was important for acquiring the α-SMA myofibroblast phenotype. To further investigate this, two animal models for carcinoma growth and wound healing using α1 deficient mice were employed. Reduction/lack of α-SMA expressing myofibroblasts substantiated or findings in human tissues, strengthening the hypothesis that the α1 integrin is important for the differentiation of α-SMA expressing myofibroblasts. In study two the effects of the HDAC inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) on pericyte function in vitro was investigated. This revealed that VPA had an inhibitory effect on pericyte proliferation, migration and differentiation into collagen type I producing fibroblasts. In addition qPCR array studies on angiogenesis related gene expression identified an up-regulation of genes involved in vessel stabilization in VPA treated pericytes. This suggests that VPA promotes a pericyte phenotype favoring vessel stability. In study three the differentiation from early mesenchymal stem cell like pericyte to fully differentiated fibrobl

Pericytes are cells of mesenchymal origin located on the abluminal side, juxtapositioned to the endothelial cells in capillaries, venules and small arterioles. They are important for maintaining vessel integrity in resting tissues as well as the formation and stabilization of new vessels. They have been suggested to function as mesenchymal stem cells thereby contributing to the connective tissue cell population in reactive tissues. In this thesis the role of pericytes as progenitors for fibroblasts was further defined both in vitro and in vivo. In the first study connective tissue cells of mesenchymal origin were investigated based on their marker expression and relation to the microvasculature. The expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), a marker for myofibroblasts, was compared to the expression of certain integrins in three reactive conditions in human tissues. There was a co-localization of α-SMA and α1β1 integrins, indicating that α1 integrin was important for acquiring the α-SMA myofibroblast phenotype. To further investigate this, two animal models for carcinoma growth and wound healing using α1 deficient mice were employed. Reduction/lack of α-SMA expressing myofibroblasts substantiated or findings in human tissues, strengthening the hypothesis that the α1 integrin is important for the differentiation of α-SMA expressing myofibroblasts. In study two the effects of the HDAC inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) on pericyte function in vitro was investigated. This revealed that VPA had an inhibitory effect on pericyte proliferation, migration and differentiation into collagen type I producing fibroblasts. In addition qPCR array studies on angiogenesis related gene expression identified an up-regulation of genes involved in vessel stabilization in VPA treated pericytes. This suggests that VPA promotes a pericyte phenotype favoring vessel stability. In study three the differentiation from early mesenchymal stem cell like pericyte to fully differentiated fibrobl

Connective tissue cell activation is of importance during reactive conditions such as solid tumor growth, wound healing and pannus formation in rheumatoid arthritis. Here we have compared connective tissue cells of mesenchymal origin in human tissues from these conditions and their normal counterparts using a panel of cell type-specific markers. In particular, we investigated variations of integrin expression among connective tissue cell phenotypes. Connective tissue cell populations were defined based on their association with the microvasculature and their expression of activation markers. The phenotype of these cells varied according to the type of pathological connective tissue examined. Our morphological data from human tissues suggested that the alpha1beta1 integrin, a collagen/laminin receptor, is involved in the differentiation of precursor cells to myofibroblasts. In order to mechanistically investigate this hypothesis we employed experimental models for carcinoma growth and wound healing utilizing alpha1 integrin deficient mice. The data confirmed that the alpha1beta1 integrin is of importance for the differentiation of mesenchymal cells to myofibroblasts but also for neovascularization and connective tissue organization and emphasizes the importance of myofibroblasts in the pathophysiology of tissue repair, inflammation and tumor growth.

Microvasculare pericytes are of key importance in neoformation of blood vessels, in stabilization of newly formed vessels as well as maintenance of angiostasis in resting tissues. In the present study the effects of the HDAC inhibitor VPA on pericyte proliferation, migration and differentiation was investigated. Furthermore, expression of genes known to be involved in different aspects of angiogenesis were investigated in primary pericyte cultures as well as the effects of VPA on the expression of these set of genes using quantative PCR arrays. The results show that HDAC inhibition leads to inhibition of pericyte proliferation and migration as well as pericyte differentiation into collagen type I producing fibroblasts. Furthermore, HDAC inhibition promoted expression of mRNAs of genes involved in vessel stabilization/maturation in human microvascular pericytes. The present study suggests that VPAs effect on angiogenesis via microvascular pericytes is through vessel stabilization., De två sista författarna delar förstaförfattarskapet

In the present study placental tissues were characterized in vivo with regards to markers expressed on pericytes, fibroblasts and collagen type I synthesis. Microvascular fragments (MVFs) isolated from human placentas had a phenotypical marker profile consistent with microvessels in situ. Cells emerging from MVFs from placenta express a marker profile consistent with a pericyte phenotype. Temporal studies identified three optimal time points (T0, T1 and T2) subsequent to the onset of cells emerging from MVFs for further analysis with regards to divergence in marker expression profiles. T0, T1 and T2 time points contained a population of cells with a cellular phenotype consistent with mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells, activated microvascular pericytes and mature connective tissue cells. Three discernable subpopulations of cells were identified i.e. Stro-1+/CD146+/podoplanin-, Stro-1-/CD146+/podoplanin- and Stro-1-/CD146-/podoplanin+ cells. Flow cytometry analysis allowed for the Stro-1-/CD146+/podoplanin- and Stro-1-/CD146-/podplanin+ cell populations to be further divided into 2 subgroups based on the expression of desmin, αSMA and TE-7. Five steps in the differentiation process from mesenchymal stem/progenitor cell to collagen type I producing fibroblast and the order by which they progressed could be defined by re-diversification studies i.e. ability of one population of cells to give rise to the other population of cells. Two in vivo experimental systems, TPA induced inflammation and excisional cutaneous wound healing were analyzed for the existence of slow cycling cells. The in vivo evidence shows that microvascular pericytes constitute a reservoir of stem/progenitor cells for pro-fibrotic connective tissue cells. This study presents novel evidence for a connective tissue cell lineage originating from a undifferentiated mesenchymal vessel associated cell population that via pericytes differentiate into pro-fibrotic fibroblasts.