Homeostasis and tissue repair mechanisms in the mammalian system, pericytes, stem cells – Christian Göritz Group

Fibroblasts in the CC play a pivotal role in supporting vasodilation by modulating norepinephrine availability. The efficacy of this process depends on the number of fibroblasts, which is regulated by erectile activity.

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Fibrotic scar tissue formation is preserved throughout the CNS. Extent and distribution of stromal cells are specific to the type of lesion and, in most cases, similar between mice and humans.

Inhibition of pericyte proliferation reduces fibrotic scar tissue following injury. Attenuated pericyte-derived scarring facilitates motor axon regeneration and improves sensorimotor recovery. Regenerated axons functionally re-integrate into the local spinal circuitry. 

Regular erections could be important for maintaining erectile function, according to a new study on mice published in Science by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. “We discovered that an increased frequency of erections leads to more fibroblasts that enable erection and vice versa, that a decreased frequency results in fewer of these cells,” says principal investigator Christian Göritz.

Regeneration of the central nervous system (CNS) in adult mammals is limited by scar tissue, contributing to the long-lasting functional deficits observed after injury. In their recent publication, Christian Göritz and co-workers show that fibrotic scar tissue forms after different kind of lesions in spinal cord and brain in mice and humans. The authors compared 10 different lesion models in mice and 4 human CNS pathologies and found that in all cases, in which fibrotic tissue is formed, a discrete subset of perivascular cells (called type A pericytes) is the main source. The Lab suggested that type A pericyte-derived fibrosis could be explored as therapeutic target to improve recovery after CNS lesions. 

The Göritz Lab has shown that induced adult neurogenesis by striatal astrocytes leads to the generation of glutamatergic neurons that functionally integrate into the adult striatal circuitry. The integration of glutamatergic neurons provides a local source of excitation to the striatum that could potentially compensate for reduced excitatory input due to aging or disease.

“Our findings give an important explanation as to why functional recovery is so limited following injury to the central nervous system” says Lau Fellow Christian Göritz.