Feeling the Squeeze

Our fast-flowing bloodstream carries raft-like blood cells with their cargoes of oxygen towards tissues and organs. Here blood approaches a mouse’s brain, sloshing through arteries (artificially highlighted in red) that narrow into arterioles, similar to when blood reaches human brain tissue. Arterioles link up to a mesh of tiny tubes called capillaries, where oxygen and nutrients unload. Researchers find that a type of vessel-supporting cell, called pericytes squeeze blood vessels to direct the blood’s microcirculation between arterioles and capillaries. Overstimulating these pericytes, affecting their metabolic sensors, alters these patterns. Interrupting the blood supply to the brain, even for a short time, can increase the risk of a stroke, so researchers will now investigate how these particular pericytes are affected by ageing and small vessel disease.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Danielle A. Jeffrey and colleagues
• Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, August 2026