Topic: tight junction proteins

Cerebrovascular damage and dysfunction have been suggested to be closely related to pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The effect of adiponectin (APN), an adipocyte-secreted hormone, on the risk and progression of AD patients remains unclear. APN has been demonstrated to play a protective role in peripheral vasculature, while little is known about its impact on cerebrovascular dysfunction in AD. In this study, we examined the cerebrovascular integrity of wildtype, 5xFAD, APN knockout (APN-/-), and APN-deficient 5xFAD (5xFAD;APN-/-) mice in terms of blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeabil

The vasculature of the brain is made up of specialized endothelial cells that form a tight blood-brain barrier (BBB). Weakening of the junctional proteins can lead to BBB disruption. This can have detrimental effects on patients’ health, as the homeostatic environment of the brain becomes compromised.The MIMETAS OrganoPlate® is a microfluidic platform that enables perfused, 3D culture of up to 96 tissues in parallel in a membrane-free manner. The microfluidic channels allow growth of perfused tubular endothelial structures. Furthermore, the system allows for automation, enabling higher through

Astronauts endure repetitive episodes of hypergravity (HG) during takeoff and landing of spaceflights, and also in space due to microgravity. We have recently shown subtle BBB breakdown in a mouse model of centrifugation-induced HG (Dubayle et al., 2023); here we have evaluated if the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) was also damaged in this model.Eight-week-old C57Bl/6J male mice were subjected to HG in a centrifuge at 2g for 24h, while control mice stayed in normogravity (N=9/group). Mice were sacrificed after centrifugation, and thoracic spinal cords collected for immunohistochemistry. For

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) protects the brain and provides oxygen and nutrients for the central nervous system (CNS), but it also restricts the entry of pharmaceutical drugs into the brain. Cell culture models are essential to investigate cerebral drug delivery. Microfluidic chip devices allow complex and physiological modelling of the BBB. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) based technologies, the formation and use of human brain organoids provide simplified 3D modeling. Our aim was to (1) create and optimize a new, dynamic cell culture lab-on-a-chip model by the co-culture of a BBB mode

Recent findings reveal an increased risk of cognitive impairment in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). To better understand the interactions between CKD and neurodegenerative diseases, twenty Sprague Dawley rats underwent either 5/6 Nephrectomy (Nx) or Sham operation through random allocation at two different time onsets: six or twelve weeks of age. Twenty-four weeks after surgery, renal function and histopathological parameters were evaluated. The 5/6Nx rats showed increased blood creatinine and urea levels as well as kidney inflammation at both time onsets. This renal damage appe