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Starting the scar: a primary role for pericytes?

Nature Medicine volume 17, pages 1052–1053 (2011)Cite this article

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After spinal cord injury, the damaged tissue is subject to limited regeneration and is usually sealed with a scar. The origins of this 'glial scar' have been vigorously debated for over a century, with most attention focused on a subtype of glial cells, astrocytes. Now, Göritz et al.1 highlight the importance of pericytes—connective tissue cells that surround blood vessels—in central nervous system (CNS) scar formation. The authors tracked a population of pericytes, type A pericytes, in a mouse model of spinal cord injury and found that descendants of these pericytes were required for scar formation. These findings may have crucial implications for developing spinal cord repair strategies and may also be relevant to our general understanding of the fibrotic process. We asked four experts their opinion on this study.

James W Fawcett

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Competing interests

J.W.F. is a paid consultant for Acorda Therapeutics and Novartis.

J.S.D. is on the scientific advisory board of Regulus Therapeutics and Promedior. He has stock options in Promedior.

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Starting the scar: a primary role for pericytes?. Nat Med 17, 1052–1053 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0911-1052

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