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Review
. 2018 Sep 10;19(9):2693.
doi: 10.3390/ijms19092693.

The "Frail" Brain Blood Barrier in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Role of Early Disruption of Endothelial Cell-to-Cell Connections

Jessica Maiuolo  1 , Micaela Gliozzi  2 , Vincenzo Musolino  3 , Miriam Scicchitano  4 , Cristina Carresi  5 , Federica Scarano  6 , Francesca Bosco  7 , Saverio Nucera  8 , Stefano Ruga  9 , Maria Caterina Zito  10 , Rocco Mollace  11 , Ernesto Palma  12 , Massimo Fini  13 , Carolina Muscoli  14   15 , Vincenzo Mollace  16   17
Affiliations
Review

The "Frail" Brain Blood Barrier in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Role of Early Disruption of Endothelial Cell-to-Cell Connections

Jessica Maiuolo et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

The main neurovascular unit of the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) consists of a cellular component, which includes endothelial cells, astrocytes, pericytes, microglia, neurons, and oligodendrocytes as well as a non-cellular component resulting from the extracellular matrix. The endothelial cells are the major vital components of the BBB able to preserve the brain homeostasis. These cells are situated along the demarcation line between the bloodstream and the brain. Therefore, an alteration or the progressive disruption of the endothelial layer may clearly impair the brain homeostasis. The proper functioning of the brain endothelial cells is generally ensured by two elements: (1) the presence of junction proteins and (2) the preservation of a specific polarity involving an apical-luminal and a basolateral-abluminal membrane. This review intends to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying BBB function and their changes occurring in early stages of neurodegenerative processes in order to develop novel therapeutic strategies aimed to counteract neurodegenerative disorders.

Keywords: brain blood barrier; endothelial dysfunction; neurodegeneration.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Molecular organization of the endothelial junctional complex in the blood-brain barrier (BBB).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Localization of the luminal and abluminal sides of brain endothelial cells. The luminal and abluminal membrane domains are separated by tight junctions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Loss of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity facilitates pro-inflammatory and leukocytes infiltration.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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