The evolving roles of pericyte in early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage

•This article explored a potential role of pericytes in early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage.•Multiple signaling pathways of pericytes were summarized including PDGF, Notch, Canonical Wnt, and beta catenin.•New and emerging factors in pericyte regulation are discussed such as MicroRNA, Exosome, and Long non-coding RNA.•Pathophysiology of pericyte in subarachnoid hemorrhage is presented in contraction, immune, phagocytic function, angiogenesis, blood–brain barrier, and stem cell function.

Despite accumulated understanding on the mechanisms of early brain injury and improved management of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), it is still one of the serious and refractory health problems around the world. Traditionally, pericyte, served as capillary contraction handler, is recently considered as the main participant of microcirculation regulation in SAH pathophysiology. However, accumulate evidences indicate that pericyte is much more than we already know. Therefore, we briefly review the characteristics, regulation pathways and functions of pericyte, aim to summarize the evolving new pathophysiological roles of pericyte that are implicated in early brain injury after SAH and to improve our understanding in order to explore potential novel therapeutic options for patients with SAH.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Cell Interactions In Stroke.