神经生物学

The outer blood–retinal barrier is composed of a monolayer of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), Bruch’s membrane, and the choriocapillaris, which is fenestrated. An in vitro model that includes all these layers within a 3-D architecture confers a clear advantage over traditional monola ...

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) comprises the microvascular endothelial cells, pericytes, and astrocytes, which are connected by the extracellular matrix (ECM). Current BBB models focus solely on the microvascular endothelial cells which constitute a physical barrier by format ...

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a monolayer of endothelial cells that is regulated by the proximity of a unique basement membrane and a tightly controlled molecular interaction between specialized subsets of cells including pericytes, astrocytes, and neurons. Working together, th ...

In species as varied as humans and flies, humoral/central nervous system barrier structures are a major obstacle to the passive penetration of small molecules including endogenous compounds, environmental toxins, and drugs. In vivo measurement of blood-brain physiologic functi ...

Glycosylation is the most common posttranslational modification of proteins in mammalian cells and is limited mainly to membrane and secreted proteins. Glycoproteins play several key roles in the physiology and pathophysiology of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and are attractive ...

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) physically and metabolically functions as a neurovascular interface between the brain parenchyma and the systemic circulation, and regulates the permeability of several endogenous substrates and xenobiotics in and out of the central nervous syst ...

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) has been well studied in terms of its pharmacological properties. However, for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating these activities, means to thoroughly investigate the BBB at the genomic and proteomic levels are essential. Glo ...

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits the movements of molecules, nutrients, and cells from the systemic blood circulation into the central nervous system (CNS), and vice versa, thus allowing an optimal microenvironment for CNS development and function. The brain endothelial cells (BE ...

Contrast agents are widely used with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to increase the contrast between regions of interest and the background signal, thus providing better quality information. Such agents can work in one of two ways, either to specifically enhance the signal that is produc ...

Breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is present in several neurological disorders such as stroke, brain tumors, and multiple sclerosis. Noninvasive evaluation of BBB breakdown is important for monitoring disease progression and evaluating therapeutic efficacy in such di ...

Assessment of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) may involve the localization of endothelial proteins within the context of endothelial permeability to plasma proteins. The use of antibodies conjugated to fluorescent dyes, coupled with analysis by confocal microscopy, allows for the d ...

The blood–nerve barrier (BNB) separates the endoneurium from the endovascular space and the epineurial connective tissue. An intact BNB is very important for integrity and functions of the nerve fibers within the endoneurial space. Disruption of the BNB which leads to functional and stru ...

The rat is a useful model for studies of embryonic blood–CSF function in that the embryos are large enough to collect sufficient fluid samples for analysis and exteriorized embryos can be kept viable for several hours in order to conduct longer term experiments. Both quantitative and qualitat ...

The evaluation of blood–brain barrier (BBB) integrity with contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may prove valuable in the setting of certain brain pathologies, such as brain tumors and acute ischemic stroke. Various MRI protocols have been developed to explore the inte ...

The blood–nerve barrier (BNB) defines the physiological space within which the axons, Schwann cells, and other associated cells of a peripheral nerve function. The BNB consists of the endoneurial microvessels within the nerve fascicle and the investing perineurium. The restricted pe ...

Formation and maintenance of the blood-retinal barrier is required for proper vision and loss of this barrier contributes to the pathology of a wide number of retinal diseases. The retina is responsible for converting visible light into the electrochemical signal interpreted by the brain ...

The choroid plexus (CP) of the blood–CSF barrier (BCSFB) displays fundamentally different properties than blood-brain barrier (BBB). With brisk blood flow (10 � brain) and highly permeable capillaries, the human CP provides the CNS with a high turnover rate of fluid (∼400,000 μL/day) contain ...

Astrocytes were identified about 150 years ago, and, for the longest time, were considered to be supporting cells in the brain providing trophic, metabolic, and structural support for neural networks. Research in the last 2 decades has uncovered many novel molecules in astrocytes and the find ...

Pericytes were described in 1873 by the French scientist Charles-Marie Benjamin Rouget and were originally called Rouget cells. The Rouget cell was renamed some years later due to its anatomical location abluminal to the endothelial cell (EC) and luminal to parenchymal cells. In the brain, p ...

The molecular advances in various aspects of brain endothelial cell function in steady states are considerable and difficult to summarize in one chapter. Therefore, this chapter focuses on endothelial permeability mechanisms in steady states and disease namely vasogenic edema. T ...