Vitro Models to Study Blood-Brain Barrier Function

Keywords Blood-brain barrier P-glycoprotein Multidrug resistance-associated protein Capillaries Endothelial cells Pregnane X receptor [Pg.397]

PBEC Porcine brain microvessel endothelial cells [Pg.398]

The blood-brain barrier forms the interface between the bloodstream and the brain parenchyma and thus controls the passage of endogenous substances and xenobiotics into and out of the central nervous system. Brain microvessels exhibit a variety of unique structural features, such as an extremely tight endothelium without fenestration, a very low rate of pinocytosis, tight junctions between endothelial cells excluding paracellular permeability, and a series of polarized transport proteins. The following chapter describes the structural and functional characteristics of the blood-brain barrier with emphasis on transport proteins, as well as in vitro techniques, which allow studying this complex barrier in the brain. [Pg.398]