Mural cell

The term mural cell refers generally to vascular smooth muscle cells and pericytes, both involved in the formation of normal vasculature and responsive to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).^[1] The weakness and disorganization of tumor vasculature is partly due to the inability of tumors to recruit properly organized mural cells.^[2]

References

1. ^ Fujimoto, Akihisa, Onodera, Hisashi, Mori, Akira, Isobe, Naoki, Yasuda, Seiichi, Oe, Hideaki, Yonenaga, Yoshikuni, Tachibana, Tsuyoshi & Imamura, Masayuki (2004) Vascular endothelial growth factor reduces mural cell coverage of endothelial cells and induces sprouting rather than luminal division in an HT1080 tumour angiogenesis model. International Journal of Experimental Pathology 85 (6), 355-364.
2. ^ Abramsson A, Berlin O, Papayan H, Paulin D, Shani M, Betsholtz C. (2002). Analysis of Mural Cell Recruitment to Tumor Vessels. Circulation 105:112.

Mural cells have contractile function.