pericyte

noun

Etymology: From peri- + -cyte.

1. A type of mesenchymal cell which in aggregation forms a contractile wrapping around a capillary.

   “Since 1873, when Rouget regarded pericytes as contractile elements (Rouget 1874), the discussion concerning this ability has never ceased. Pericytes are likely to respond to vasoactive molecules such as nitric oxide, prostacyclin, angiotensin II, and endothelin-1, because they express respective receptors (Dehouck et al., 1997, Chakravarthy and Gardiner, 1999, Healy and Wilk, 1993).”

   “2008, Frederick Pfister, Yuxi Feng, Hans-Peter Hammes, Pericyte Loss in the Diabetic Retina, Elia Duh, Diabetic Retinopathy, Humana Press, page 249, However, due to the morphological similarities of rodent retinal capillary endothelial cells and pericytes, markers allowing for the distinction of retinal capillary cells were crucial for quantitative analysis.”