Lycopersicon esculentum lectin: an effective and versatile endothelial marker of normal and tumoral blood vessels in the central nervous system

Summary: This study investigated the electroporation effect on endothelial cells in normal and tumor blood vessels using a multilayer dielectric model. It found that vascular smooth muscle cells in normal blood vessels may provide protection against electroporation, while the lack of these cells in tumor blood vessels led to a stronger electroporation effect on endothelial cells. This study may help explain why the structure of endothelial cells in normal blood vessels is preserved during electroporation treatment and how ECT or IRE may selectively damage tumor blood vessels and cells while preserving normal blood vessels.

Summary: In vivo blood vessels imaging plays a crucial role in studying blood vessel-related diseases, and fluorescent-based imaging is an effective technique for real-time imaging. A new near-infrared probe (CyA-B2) was discovered in a previous study, which showed specific binding to the blood capillaries in 3D tissue models. Through competition assays, CD133 protein was found to have the strongest binding to CyA-B2, suggesting it as the binding site on the surface of endothelial cells. Since CD133 is also expressed on various cancer cells, CyA-B2 could be useful as a bioprobe for monitoring or diagnosing tumor growth.

Summary: Vascular regeneration and bone development rely on the important role of pericytes, but distinguishing different subtypes of pericytes remains a challenge. This review discusses the biology, markers, and differentiation capacity of pericytes, with a focus on their potential applications in the treatment of spinal cord injury and bone diseases in orthopedics.