ScienceDaily
Your source for the latest research news
Follow Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Subscribe RSS Feeds Newsletters
New:
  • Unprecedented Glimpse of Merging Galaxies
  • Chimps Synchronize Their Steps Just Like Humans
  • Secrets of Namibia's Fairy Circles Demystified
  • Black Death Shaped Evolution of Immunity Genes
  • Methane-Eating 'Borgs' Taking Earth's Microbes
  • Pain Relief Without Side Effects and Addiction
  • Accounting For Dark Energy and Dark Matter
  • Meet the First Neanderthal Family
  • Physicists Confirm Hitch in Proton Structure
  • Five Hours' Sleep a Night: Disease Risk
advertisement
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines!
Science News
from research organizations

1

2

Key to blood-brain barrier opens way for treating Alzheimer’s and stroke

Date:
October 15, 2010
Source:
Karolinska Institutet
Summary:
While the blood-brain barrier (BBB) protects the brain from harmful chemicals occurring naturally in the blood, it also obstructs the transport of drugs to the brain. Scientists now present a potential solution to the problem. The key to the BBB is a cell-type in the blood vessel walls called pericytes, and the researchers hope that their findings will one day contribute to new therapies for diseases like Alzheimer's and stroke.
Share:
FULL STORY

While the blood-brain barrier (BBB) protects the brain from harmful chemicals occurring naturally in the blood, it also obstructs the transport of drugs to the brain. In an article in Nature scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet now present a potential solution to the problem. The key to the BBB is a cell-type in the blood vessel walls called pericytes, and the researchers hope that their findings will one day contribute to new therapies for diseases like Alzheimer's and stroke.

advertisement

"Our new results show that the blood-brain barrier is regulated by pericytes, and can be opened in a way that allows the passage of molecules of different sizes while keeping the brain's basic functions operating properly," says Christer Betsholtz, professor of vascular biology at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, who has led the study.

The blood-brain barrier is a term denoting the separation of blood from tissue by blood vessels that are extremely tight? Impermeable?. In other organs, the capillary walls let certain substances carried by the blood, such as the plasma proteins albumin and immunoglobulin, out into the surrounding tissue. In the brain, however, this pathway is closed off. This is essential for many reasons, one being that the plasma proteins are harmful to nerve cells.

In recent time, capillary permeability in the brain has been discussed as a factor of potential significance to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS.

"Our new knowledge of how the BBB is regulated could be used in two ways," says Professor Betsholtz. "To protect the brain under conditions such as stroke and inflammation that lead to the opening of the BBB and the release of neurodamaging substances; and to open the barrier temporarily to allow the transport of drugs against neurodegenerative and other diseases of the brain."

In the study, which is now published in Nature, Professor Betsholtz and his research group show how this would be possible. The pericytes normally maintain the barrier function through an as-yet unknown molecular mechanism; in their absence, a special transport process called transcytosis opens a path through the capillary walls so that molecules of different sizes, including large plasma proteins, can pass from the blood into the brain. The pericytes also regulate another type of brain cell known as an astrocyte. Astrocytes contribute to the BBB through special extensions called end-feet which envelop the capillaries and regulate water and ion flows.

"Another interesting find is that the cancer drug Imatinib, which inhibits certain signal proteins for cell growth, has a similar effect in the presence of pericytes in that they also close the capillary wall transport paths," says Professor Christer Betsholtz.

Also involved in the study were researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy in Gothenburg. The study was financed through grants from the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems, the EU Sixth Framework Programme, the Swedish Cancer Society, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Inga-Britt and Arne Lundberg Research Foundation and the Söderberg foundations.

make a difference: sponsored opportunity

Story Source:

Materials provided by Karolinska Institutet. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Annika Armulik et al. Pericytes regulate the blood-brain barrier. Nature, 2010; DOI: 10.1038/nature09522

Cite This Page:

  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
Karolinska Institutet. "Key to blood-brain barrier opens way for treating Alzheimer’s and stroke." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 October 2010. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101014083341.htm>.
Karolinska Institutet. (2010, October 15). Key to blood-brain barrier opens way for treating Alzheimer’s and stroke. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 21, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101014083341.htm
Karolinska Institutet. "Key to blood-brain barrier opens way for treating Alzheimer’s and stroke." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101014083341.htm (accessed October 21, 2022).

  • RELATED TOPICS
    • Health & Medicine
      • Brain Tumor
      • Heart Disease
      • Hypertension
      • Nervous System
    • Mind & Brain
      • Brain Injury
      • Brain-Computer Interfaces
      • Disorders and Syndromes
      • Intelligence
advertisement

  • RELATED TERMS
    • Stroke
    • Cerebral contusion
    • Blood transfusion
    • Encephalopathy
    • Brain damage
    • Blood pressure
    • Cardiac arrest
    • CPR
advertisement

  Print   Email   Share

advertisement

1

2

3

4

5
Most Popular
this week

HEALTH & MEDICINE
Eating Late Increases Hunger, Decreases Calories Burned, and Changes Fat Tissue
Clusters of Genes Help Mice Live Longer
Study of Over 5 Million People's DNA Reveals Genetic Links to Height
MIND & BRAIN
Dogs Can Smell When We're Stressed, Study Suggests
Human Brain Cells in a Dish Learn to Play Pong in Real Time
Healthy Aging Requires an Understanding of Personality Types
LIVING & WELL
Did the Pandemic Change Our Personalities?
Five Hours' Sleep a Night Linked to Higher Risk of Multiple Diseases
Too Much Motivation Affects Our Decision-Making
advertisement

Strange & Offbeat
 

HEALTH & MEDICINE
RNA Origami Enables Applications in Synthetic Biology
Unlocking the Power of Our Emotional Memory
Robotic Drug Capsule Can Deliver Drugs to Gut
MIND & BRAIN
Our Brains Use Quantum Computation
Human Brain Cells in a Dish Learn to Play Pong in Real Time
Dogs Can Smell When We're Stressed, Study Suggests
LIVING & WELL
Researchers Develop Painless Tattoos That Can Be Self-Administered
Washing Dishes With Superheated Steam More Effective, Earth-Friendly
News Addiction Linked to Not Only Poor Mental Wellbeing but Physical Health Too, New Study Shows
Explore More
from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES

Researchers Improve Vehicle for Delivering Gene Therapies to the Central Nervous System
Oct. 10, 2022 — The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is an imposing foe for gene therapy. Formed of cells wedged tightly together, the BBB keeps toxins and pathogens that may be present in the blood from entering brain ...
Scientists Identify Novel Approach to Preventing Seizures
Apr. 14, 2022 — Scientists have announced a significant advance in our understanding of epilepsy, as they have identified a potential method of preventing damaging seizure activity. Brain cells are nourished by an ...
First Blood-Brain Barrier Chip Using Stem Cells
June 12, 2019 — Researchers have, for the first time, duplicated a patient's blood-brain barrier (BBB), creating a human BBB chip with stem cells, which can be used to develop personalized medicine and new ...
Ultrasound Method Restores Dopaminergic Pathway in Brain at Parkinson's Early Stages
June 6, 2019 — Researchers have developed a technique that could open up new ways to facilitate targeted drug delivery into the brain, enabling drugs to treat brain diseases more focally. They used transcranial, ...
advertisement


SD
  • SD
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Home
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Health
    • View all the latest top news in the health sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Health & Medicine
      • Allergy
      • Alternative Medicine
      • Birth Control
      • Cancer
      • Diabetes
      • Diseases
      • Heart Disease
      • HIV and AIDS
      • Obesity
      • Stem Cells
      • ... more topics
      Mind & Brain
      • ADD and ADHD
      • Addiction
      • Alzheimer's
      • Autism
      • Depression
      • Headaches
      • Intelligence
      • Psychology
      • Relationships
      • Schizophrenia
      • ... more topics
      Living Well
      • Parenting
      • Pregnancy
      • Sexual Health
      • Skin Care
      • Men's Health
      • Women's Health
      • Nutrition
      • Diet and Weight Loss
      • Fitness
      • Healthy Aging
      • ... more topics
  • Tech
    • View all the latest top news in the physical sciences & technology,
      or browse the topics below:
      Matter & Energy
      • Aviation
      • Chemistry
      • Electronics
      • Fossil Fuels
      • Nanotechnology
      • Physics
      • Quantum Physics
      • Solar Energy
      • Technology
      • Wind Energy
      • ... more topics
      Space & Time
      • Astronomy
      • Black Holes
      • Dark Matter
      • Extrasolar Planets
      • Mars
      • Moon
      • Solar System
      • Space Telescopes
      • Stars
      • Sun
      • ... more topics
      Computers & Math
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Communications
      • Computer Science
      • Hacking
      • Mathematics
      • Quantum Computers
      • Robotics
      • Software
      • Video Games
      • Virtual Reality
      • ... more topics
  • Enviro
    • View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Plants & Animals
      • Agriculture and Food
      • Animals
      • Biology
      • Biotechnology
      • Endangered Animals
      • Extinction
      • Genetically Modified
      • Microbes and More
      • New Species
      • Zoology
      • ... more topics
      Earth & Climate
      • Climate
      • Earthquakes
      • Environment
      • Geography
      • Geology
      • Global Warming
      • Hurricanes
      • Ozone Holes
      • Pollution
      • Weather
      • ... more topics
      Fossils & Ruins
      • Ancient Civilizations
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • Dinosaurs
      • Early Humans
      • Early Mammals
      • Evolution
      • Lost Treasures
      • Origin of Life
      • Paleontology
      • ... more topics
  • Society
    • View all the latest top news in the social sciences & education,
      or browse the topics below:
      Science & Society
      • Arts & Culture
      • Consumerism
      • Economics
      • Political Science
      • Privacy Issues
      • Public Health
      • Racial Disparity
      • Religion
      • Sports
      • World Development
      • ... more topics
      Business & Industry
      • Biotechnology & Bioengineering
      • Computers & Internet
      • Energy & Resources
      • Engineering
      • Medical Technology
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Transportation
      • ... more topics
      Education & Learning
      • Animal Learning & Intelligence
      • Creativity
      • Educational Psychology
      • Educational Technology
      • Infant & Preschool Learning
      • Learning Disorders
      • STEM Education
      • ... more topics
  • Quirky
    • Top News
    • Human Quirks
    • Odd Creatures
    • Bizarre Things
    • Weird World
Free Subscriptions

Get the latest science news with ScienceDaily's free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

  • Email Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
Follow Us

Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Have Feedback?

Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

  • Leave Feedback
  • Contact Us
About This Site  |  Staff  |  Reviews  |  Contribute  |  Advertise  |  Privacy Policy  |  Editorial Policy  |  Terms of Use
Copyright 1995-2022 ScienceDaily or by other parties, where indicated. All rights controlled by their respective owners.
Content on this website is for information only. It is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice.
Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners.
Financial support for ScienceDaily comes from advertisements and referral programs, where indicated.
— CCPA: Do Not Sell My Information — GDPR: Privacy Settings —