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Review
. 2018 Dec 5;4(2):78-82.
doi: 10.1136/svn-2018-000198. eCollection 2019 Jul.

Basement membrane and blood-brain barrier

Lingling Xu  1 , Abhijit Nirwane  1 , Yao Yao  1
Affiliations
Review

Basement membrane and blood-brain barrier

Lingling Xu et al. Stroke Vasc Neurol. .

Abstract

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a highly complex and dynamic structure, mainly composed of brain microvascular endothelial cells, pericytes, astrocytes and the basement membrane (BM). The vast majority of BBB research focuses on its cellular constituents. Its non-cellular component, the BM, on the other hand, is largely understudied due to its intrinsic complexity and the lack of research tools. In this review, we focus on the role of the BM in BBB integrity. We first briefly introduce the biochemical composition and structure of the BM. Next, the biological functions of major components of the BM in BBB formation and maintenance are discussed. Our goal is to provide a concise overview on how the BM contributes to BBB integrity.

Keywords: basement membrane; blood-brain barrier; collagen Iv; laminin.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic illustration of the blood–brain barrier. BM, basement membrane.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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