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. 2013 Jan;14(1):41-51.
doi: 10.1038/ni.2477. Epub 2012 Nov 25.

Capillary and arteriolar pericytes attract innate leukocytes exiting through venules and 'instruct' them with pattern-recognition and motility programs

Konstantin Stark  1 , Annekathrin Eckart, Selgai Haidari, Anca Tirniceriu, Michael Lorenz, Marie-Luise von Brühl, Florian Gärtner, Alexander Georg Khandoga, Kyle R Legate, Robert Pless, Ingrid Hepper, Kirsten Lauber, Barbara Walzog, Steffen Massberg
Affiliations

Capillary and arteriolar pericytes attract innate leukocytes exiting through venules and 'instruct' them with pattern-recognition and motility programs

Konstantin Stark et al. Nat Immunol. 2013 Jan.

Abstract

Coordinated navigation within tissues is essential for cells of the innate immune system to reach the sites of inflammatory processes, but the signals involved are incompletely understood. Here we demonstrate that NG2(+) pericytes controlled the pattern and efficacy of the interstitial migration of leukocytes in vivo. In response to inflammatory mediators, pericytes upregulated expression of the adhesion molecule ICAM-1 and released the chemoattractant MIF. Arteriolar and capillary pericytes attracted and interacted with myeloid leukocytes after extravasating from postcapillary venules, 'instructing' them with pattern-recognition and motility programs. Inhibition of MIF neutralized the migratory cues provided to myeloid leukocytes by NG2(+) pericytes. Hence, our results identify a previously unknown role for NG2(+) pericytes as an active component of innate immune responses, which supports the immunosurveillance and effector function of extravasated neutrophils and macrophages.

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