Cerebrovascular-immune cell interactions in health and disease

Blood flow in the brain is controlled not only at the arteriole level, but also at the capillary level by contractile cells called pericytes. After a stroke, even if a clot is removed the blood flow only returns to half its normal value, because of pericytes obstructing the microvasculature. This project will assess how microglia interact with pericytes and whether they contribute to the deleterious events occurring in ischaemia, both in brain slices and in vivo.