Nestin reveals progenitor cells in pulmonary vascular wall

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and pericytes (PCs), distinguished by the expression of neuronal stem cell marker “Nestin”, may represent stem cell-like progenitor cells for tissues in various organs. In one of our previous studies, we found that nestin-expressing VSMCs and PCs in testicular blood vessels are the progenitors of testosterone producing Leydig cells. To analyze the expression pattern of nestin and its role as marker for proliferating progenitor cells in the lung, nestin expression and localization was investigated during postnatal development in nestin-GFP mice. To investigate nestin-expressio…