Fig. 7

A pericyte conduit between facing radial vessels of the developing human cerebral cortex. a–c Two pericytes (P) are located at the opposite terminals of an NG2⁺collagen IV⁺ bridging conduit; as often observed, their nucleus marks the point of TNT/MT origin. d The enlargement of the merged image in c reveals further details and shows that in both the PCs, the nucleus is bent over on itself, describing a phrygian hat-like shape, so leaving an opening directly communicating with the lumen of the parental vessel; the entrance to the ‘tunnel’ is revealed by the collagen IV-enriched endothelial layer of the vessel basal lamina (red arrow). This critical passage is better shown in the single optical plane from the z-stack (e, red arrow); note the nucleus of an EC (white arrow) engaged through a collateral root. Human telencephalon 22 weeks of gestation. Scale bars a-e 25 µm