Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Aug 25;22(1):88.
doi: 10.1186/s12987-025-00699-w.

Endothelial mitochondria in the blood-brain barrier

Yunwei Shao #  1 , Lingling Mai #  2 , Ruogu Qiao  3 , Yi Liang  3 , Yuying Jiao  3 , Judith Homburg  2 , Zhenfu Jiang  4 , Laiyu Song  5
Affiliations
Review

Endothelial mitochondria in the blood-brain barrier

Yunwei Shao et al. Fluids Barriers CNS. .

Abstract

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective interface between the peripheral circulation and the central nervous system (CNS), crucial for maintaining brain homeostasis. Disruptions to the BBB, such as increased permeability or structural damage, can lead to neurological damage. Mitochondria, the primary energy producers within endothelial cells, play a key role in the function of the BBB by maintaining its integrity and low permeability. This review first outlines the structural components of the BBB, then examines the role of mitochondria in endothelial cells under physiological conditions. We further focus on alterations in mitochondrial function during pathological states, discussing their impact on BBB stability. Briefly, this review explores the involvement of mitochondria in BBB endothelial cells in both physiological processes and the pathological progression of neurological diseases, while proposing potential therapeutic directions for treating CNS disorders.

Keywords: Blood-brain barrier; Endothelial cells; Mitochondria; Nervous system.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent toparticipate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. Montagne A, Barnes SR, Sweeney MD, Halliday MR, Sagare AP, Zhao Z, Toga AW, Jacobs RE, Liu CY, Amezcua L, Harrington MG, Chui HC, Law M, Zlokovic BV. Blood-brain barrier breakdown in the aging human hippocampus. Neuron. 2015;85(2):296–302. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Daneman R, Zhou L, Kebede AA, Barres BA. Pericytes are required for blood-brain barrier integrity during embryogenesis. Nature. 2010;468(7323):562–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Campisi M, Shin Y, Osaki T, Hajal C, Chiono V, Kamm RD. 3D self-organized microvascular model of the human blood-brain barrier with endothelial cells, pericytes and astrocytes. Biomaterials. 2018;180:117–29. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kostulas N, Li HL, Xiao BG, Huang YM, Kostulas V, Link H. Dendritic cells are present in ischemic brain after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat. Stroke. 2002;33(4):1129–34. - PubMed
    1. Zhan R, Meng X, Tian D, Xu J, Cui H, Yang J, Xu Y, Shi M, Xue J, Yu W, Hu G, Li K, Ge X, Zhang Q, Zhao M, Du J, Guo X, Xu W, Gao Y, Yao C, Chen F, Chen Y, Shan W, Zhu Y, Ji L, Pan B, Yu Y, Li W, Zhao X, He Q, Liu X, Huang Y, Liao S, Zhou B, Chui D, Chen YE, Sun Z, Dong E, Wang Y, Zheng L. NAD + rescues aging-induced blood-brain barrier damage via the CX43-PARP1 axis. Neuron. 2023;111(22):3634–e36497. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources