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blood-brain barrier; blood-CSF barrier; plasma-CSF barrier
Structure:
- continuous layer of endothelial cells connected by tight junctions
- similar capillaries are found in the retina, iris, inner ear & endoneurium of peripheral nerves
- in circumventricular organs, the blood brain barrier is absent; the endothelium is fenestrated
- the blood-CSF barrier is provided by tight junctions between ependymal cells
Function:
- the choroid plexus regulates nutrient, lipid & protein transport across the blood-CSF barrier
- opposes passage of most ions & large molecular weight compounds from the blood into the cerebrospinal fluid & brain tissue
- insulin can cross the blood brain barrier* & can penetrate the hippocampus [4]
* insulin can be delivered through the nose to the brain, via a simple nasal spray [4]
Pathology:
- breakdown of the blood brain barrier occurs in many neurodegenerative disorders [3]
- Alzheimer disease
- Parkinson disease
- Huntington disease
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- multiple sclerosis
- HIV-1-associated dementia
- chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Comparative biology:
- p16INK4a expressing (dubbed senescent) endothelial cells associated with compromised blood brain barrier in mice [2]
Related
circumventricular organ
General
vascular endothelium
References
- Stedman's Medical Dictionary 27th ed, Williams &
Wilkins, Baltimore, 1999
- Yamazaki Y, Baker DJ, Tachibana M et al
Vascular Cell Senescence Contributes to Blood-Brain Barrier
Breakdown.
Stroke. 2016 Feb 16.
PMID: 26883501
- Sweeney MD, Sagare AP, Zlokovic BV
Blood-brain barrier breakdown in Alzheimer disease and other
neurodegenerative disorders.
Nature Reviews Neurology. Jan 29, 2018
PMID: 29377008
https://www.nature.com/articles/nrneurol.2017.188
- Szalinski C
A New Way to 'Smuggle' Drugs Through the Blood-Brain Barrier.
Medscape. Oct 10, 2024
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/new-way-smuggle-drugs-through-blood-brain-barrier-2024a1000ijs
Component-of
brain