Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42260160›Full record

ArticleCommunications biology2026

Transcriptional analyses identify pericyte-centered signaling programs altered by sex and brain region in Alzheimer's Disease.

Kareem El-Ghazawi, Yonathan T Aberra, Yashasvisai Veeramasu, Wisam A Fares, Brant E Isakson, Harald Sontheimer, Ukpong B Eyo, Shayn M Peirce

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Communications biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Kareem El-GhazawiDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9195-5069
Yonathan T AberraDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6055-2291
Yashasvisai VeeramasuDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Wisam A FaresDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Brant E IsaksonRobert M Berne Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Harald SontheimerDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Ukpong B EyoDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. ube9q@virginia.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-1294-475X
Shayn M PeirceDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. smp6p@virginia.edu.

Funding

Purinergic Regulation of Veinous Endothelial PermeabilityR01HL137112 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · PI Brant E Isakson, MICHAEL H. KOVAL · 2018 to 2026
$4.7M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL137112
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pericytes are critical components of the neurovascular unit (NVU), regulating endothelial cell stability, blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity, and neuroimmune signaling. Their role in Alzheimer's Disease (AD), particularly regarding sex differences and brain region specificity, remains poorly defined. Using single-nucleus RNA sequencing analysis and cell-cell communication tools (LIANA, Tensor-cell2cell), we characterize pericyte transcriptional and signaling changes across the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of AD and non-AD donors stratified by sex. We identify a pericyte-endothelial TGFβ signaling program upregulated in female AD donors specifically in the MTG, and a downregulated estrogen pathway involving pericyte-astrocyte ligand-receptor interactions, supported by increased pericyte-astrocyte separation in spatial transcriptomics. We also identify a microglia-to-pericyte program enriched for hypoxia and p53 pathways that is elevated in both sexes with regional specificity. Our findings implicate pericyte-driven communication as a mechanistic contributor to female-biased AD vulnerability, and support sex- and region-aware approaches in neurodegeneration research.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseBrainPericytesSignal TransductionAgedFemaleGene Expression ProfilingHumansMaleSex CharacteristicsSex FactorsTranscriptome

Identifiers

PMID42260160
PMCPMC13586196

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.