Trends in Neurosciences
Research updateThe ins and outs of brain-barrier mechanisms
Section snippets
Choroid plexus transporters, development and neuroprotective role
The choroid plexuses are beginning to emerge from their Cinderella status among barrier aficionados. Peter Brown (University of Manchester, UK) described molecular and electrophysiological approaches to isolated choroid plexus cells and cell membranes that have revealed a wealth of detail about ion transporters and their regional distribution in the external cell membrane [1]. Unlike most other epithelia, in the choroid plexus, secretion (of cerebrospinal fluid; CSF) depends on exchange of HCO3−
Tight junctions
Although the term blood–brain barrier is used as a convenient short-hand to describe the whole range of mechanisms that control the internal environment of the brain, the intercellular tight junctions remain an essential underlying barrier structure, which is essential for all of the exchange mechanisms across the blood–brain and blood–CSF barriers. Stefan Liebner (Institute of Molecular Oncology, Milan, Italy) described the results of an elegant freeze-fracture study of both developing tight
Clinical studies
An important aim of the symposium was to bring together basic, applied and clinical scientists. Of several reports of clinical research that provoked substantial interest and discussion, John Pickard (University of Cambridge, UK) outlined the effectiveness of research intended to give the seriously injured patient access to a whole range of intensive care, monitoring and imaging facilities. This approach clearly benefits the patients, but it also allows a level of investigation that would be
Defeating the blood–brain barrier
A major theme, which generated a lot of discussion, was the problem of getting drugs and other therapeutic agents across the blood–brain barrier. It has been estimated that as many as 98% of neuroactive drugs developed by the pharmaceutical industry are therapeutically useless because they fail to cross into the brain [6]. Mark Habgood (University of Tasmania) discussed the features of brain barrier systems that have to be circumvented in order to obtain entry into the brain. He outlined
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Cited by (7)
Exercise and cerebrovascular plasticity
2016, Progress in Brain ResearchCitation Excerpt :In addition, as mentioned before, blocking an action of circulating IGF-I abolished the positive effects of exercise (Carro et al., 2000, 2001; Lopez-Lopez et al., 2004; Trejo et al., 2001). Therefore, and here is a fundamental question, in order to act in the brain parenchyma, how does serum IGF-I pass through the BBB, which generally limits free passage of blood proteins into the brain (Dziegielewska and Saunders, 2002)? Previous studies have shown that serum IGF-I can cross the BBB (Pardridge, 1993; Yu et al., 2006); however, its detailed regulatory mechanisms remained uncertain.
Barriers in the developing brain and Neurotoxicology
2012, NeuroToxicologyCitation Excerpt :As outlined above, most of the original studies of the developing blood–brain barrier using dyes showed that this barrier was present as in the adult brain, although perhaps more fragile (Saunders, 1992). Evidence of functionally effective barrier mechanisms in the developing brain has been known for many years (Saunders, 1977; Saunders and Møllgård, 1981,1984; Møllgård and Saunders, 1986; Saunders, 1992; Saunders et al., 1999a,b, 2000, 2008, 2010; Dziegielewska et al., 2000; Saunders, 2001; Dziegielewska and Saunders, 2002; Ek et al., 2005; Johansson et al., 2008; Saunders and Habgood, 2011; Neuwelt et al., 2011). Nevertheless, a belief in an absence or incompleteness of the blood–brain barrier during development persists, particularly amongst those with an interest in neurotoxicology.
Windows of the brain: Towards a developmental biology of circumventricular and other neurohemal organs
2007, Seminars in Cell and Developmental BiologyThe inner csf-brain barrier: Developmentally controlled access to the brain via intercellular junctions
2015, Frontiers in NeuroscienceNeural Functions of Hematopoietic-derived Cells
2013, The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Psychoneuroimmunology