Summary
Capillaries, pericytes and microglial cells in layer I of the cerebral cortex of normal adult cats have been studied with electron microscopy. The data obtained in this study show that pericytes are cells which are able to transform themselves into microglial cells by virtue of an activation process in which the astrocytic neuroglia appears to play a decisive role. By virtue of its structure, its mesodermic origin and its function the microglia has to be distinguished clearly from the astrocytic neuroglia and the oligodendroglia.
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This study was partly supported by a grant from the Seguridad Social, Instituto Nacional de Previsión.
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Barón, M., Gallego, A. The relation of the microglia with the pericytes in the cat cerebral cortex. Z.Zellforsch 128, 42–57 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00306887
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00306887