Ultrastructural features of the neurovascular unit in Alzheimer's neurodegeneration

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that capillaries, neurons, and astrocytes form a functional unit that serves to maintain cerebral homeostasis. Physiological interactions between all these components of the neurovascular unit control cerebral microcirculation, while abnormal regulatory mechanisms lead to cerebral dysfunction and disease states, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using electron microscopy, we studied a fragment of the frontotemporal cortex obtained intraoperatively from a patient with established AD. The objective of our study was to assess the ultrastructure of the components of the neurovascular unit. Such ultrastructural studies allow analyzing the structural process of new blood vessels formation and also the appearance of neurons and astrocytes contributing to the neurovascular unit. We suggest that dysfunction of particular components of the neurovascular unit underlies AD and ultimately leads to neurodegeneration.