Scar formation after injury of the brain or spinal cord is a common event. While glial scar formation by astrocytes has been extensively studied, much less is known about the fibrotic scar, in particular after stroke. Platelet-derived growth factor receptor ß-expressing (PDGFRß+ ) pericytes have been suggested as a source of the fibrotic scar depositing fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins after detaching from the vessel wall. However, to what extent these parenchymal PDGFRß+ cells contribute to the fibrotic scar and whether targeting these cells affects fibrotic scar formation in stroke is still unclear. Here, we utilize male transgenic mice that after a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke model have a shift from a parenchymal to a perivascular location of PDGFRß+ cells due to the loss of regulator of G-protein signaling 5 in pericytes. We find that only a small fraction of parenchymal PDGFRß+ cells co-label with type I collagen and fibronectin. Consequently, a reduction in parenchymal PDGFRß+ cells by ca. 50% did not affect the overall type I collagen or fibronectin deposition after stroke. The redistribution of PDGFRß+ cells to a perivascular location, however, resulted in a reduced thickening of the vascular basement membrane and changed the temporal dynamics of glial scar maturation after stroke. We demonstrate that parenchymal PDGFRß+ cells are not the main contributor to the fibrotic ECM, and therefore targeting these cells might not impact on fibrotic scar formation after stroke.
Keywords: RRID:AB_2082660; RRID:AB_2105706; RRID:AB_2162497; RRID:AB_217595; RRID:AB_2298772; RRID:AB_298179; RRID:AB_305808; RRID:AB_354858; RRID:AB_393571; RRID:AB_467492; RRID:SCR_002798; RRID:SCR_003070; RRID:SCR_010279; collagen; extracellular matrix; fibronectin; fibrotic scar; glial scar; pericytes; stroke.
© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Neuroscience Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.