Emerging Roles of Pericytes in Coordinating Skeletal Muscle Functions: Implications and Therapeutic Potential

Capillaries are composed of endothelial cells that are partially wrapped by a mural cell known as a pericyte. There is growing interest in the functional roles of pericytes within the skeletal muscle microcirculation and how they might ultimately influence skeletal muscle functions. Generally, pericytes are thought to stabilize the capillary structure, modify endothelial cell functions, and participate in the process of new capillary formation, angiogenesis. Based on their structural organization and phenotypic behaviors, pericytes are postulated to perform a broad set of roles within the skeletal muscle that may include coordinating tissue homeostasis in healthy muscle and during the regeneration processes in damaged muscle. These functions indicate potential therapeutic opportunities targeting or utilizing pericytes to improve muscle health under pathophysiological conditions such as diabetes or muscle ischemia. This review will discuss the current knowledge of skeletal muscle pericyte phenotype and function and the evidence supporting the influence of pericytes in skeletal muscle health under physiological and pathological states.