Pericyte Progenitors at the Crossroads Between Fibrosis and Regeneration

Lineage Tracing and Genetic Ablation of ADAM12+ Perivascular Cells Identify a Major Source of Profibrotic Cells During Acute Tissue Injury Dulauroy et al Nat Med. 2012;18:1262-1270. Tissue repair after injury is generally inversely related to the extent of scarring, suggesting the possibility that regeneration could be promoted by interventions that inhibit scar formation. New work by Dulauroy et al has identified a myofibroblast progenitor with pericyte characteristics as an important mediator of scarring in skin and skeletal muscle after injury. The genetic ablation of this lineage, which was identifiable by the expression of ADAM12, led to a dramatic reduction in scarring and more complete regeneration. This work sharpens the conceptual rationale for therapeutic targeting of soluble or cellular mediators of scarring to promote tissue regeneration.