Fig 1: IPSC-PC home to brain capillaries and form functional hybrid microvessels under normoxia and hypoxia. (A) Schematic overview of experimental setup. Acute brain slices from pericyte-deficient PdgfrbF7/F7 mice were incubated with iPSC-PC under 3 conditions: (1) PSC-PCNORM + BRAINNORM, (2) PSC-PCHYP + BRAINNORM, and (3) PSC-PCHYP + BRAINHYP. (B) Representative confocal images showing iPSC-PC (green, CellTracker) interacting with host brain capillaries (magenta, Lectin). Scale bar: 20 μm. (C) Quantification of IPSC-PC homing and process formation with the host brain endothelium across conditions. (D) Schematic of the proximity ligation assay (PLA) used to assess pericyte–endothelial cell contact of PDGFRB (pericytes) and PDGF-BB (endothelium). (E) Representative PLA images showing PDGFRB-PDGF-BB colocalization (red) at the pericyte–endothelial interface under all 3 conditions, confirming functional interaction. Scale bar: 5 μm. Data represent n = 4 independent cell cultures for each condition. Statistical significance was determined by 1-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. Abbreviations: iPSC-PCs = pericytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells; ns=nonsignificant.