Meccanismi di metastasi al cancro mediati dalle cellule pericite.

Emerging experimental evidence shows that perivascular cells (PCs), referred to as pericytes lying within the basement membrane (BM) and surrounding endothelial cells (ECs) of microvasculatures, play multifarious roles in cancer metastasis. In the tumor microenvironment (TME), PC detachment and ablation from tumor microvessels obliterate the vascular integrity and the protective barrier of the vessel wall, leading to increased permeability for cancer cell intravasation. PCs retain mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) features and commit to differentiation into other stromal cells, including the pericyte-fibroblast transition (PFT) for promoting cancer metastasis. Activated PCs produce a myriad of gro