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Immunocytochemical Assessment of Blood–Brain Barrier Structure, Function, and Damage

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Immunocytochemistry and Related Techniques

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 101))

Abstract

Much of our knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the blood –brain barrier (BBB ) was discovered before the modern era of neuroimaging and molecular biology . However, discoveries in the past 25 years have added a new dimension to our understanding of the BBB and to what has been referred more recently as the neurovascular unit (NVU ). Disruption of the BBB occurs in many neurological diseases , including brain trauma , acute and chronic cerebral ischemia , multiple sclerosis , epilepsy , some neurodegenerative diseases , brain tumors , and brain infections , either viral or bacterial . The BBB forms the interface between the blood and brain tissues. During a brain injury , a cascade of molecular events involving free radicals and proteases that attack basement membrane proteins and degrade the tight junction proteins in endothelial cells results in a final common pathway leading to BBB disruption . Free radicals of oxygen and nitrogen , as well as proteases, matrix met alloproteinases, and cyclooxygenases , are important in the BBB disruption as the neuroinflammatory response progresses. The challenges to treatment of the brain diseases involve understanding the timing of the molecular cascades to block the early BBB injury without interfering with recovery . Morphological methods are important tools, not only in assessing the disruption of the BBB but also in understanding the pathophysiology of the processes leading to BBB leakage . A better knowledge of the intimate events responsible for BBB disturbances can pave the way for new therapeutic approaches. Morphological methods can be applied to experimental models as well as to human specimens. This chapter will describe the different morphological methods available for the evaluation of BBB structure and disruption and for the assessment of molecular events leading to BBB injury. We will first examine different ways for assessing the integrity of the BBB and therefore its leakiness in case of its disruption, then we will consider the immunodetection of the different components of the BBB and the consequences following BBB injury, and finally, we will present how to study the processes involved in BBB disruption (i.e., oxidative stress , matrix metalloproteinases) by using morphological tools.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jean-Pierre Louboutin

  2. Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica

    Jean-Pierre Louboutin

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  1. Jean-Pierre Louboutin
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Correspondence to Jean-Pierre Louboutin .

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  1. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Torino, Grugliasco, Torino, Torino, Italy

    Adalberto Merighi

  2. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Torino, Grugliasco, Torino, Torino, Italy

    Laura Lossi

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Louboutin, JP. (2015). Immunocytochemical Assessment of Blood–Brain Barrier Structure, Function, and Damage. In: Merighi, A., Lossi, L. (eds) Immunocytochemistry and Related Techniques. Neuromethods, vol 101. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2313-7_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2313-7_13

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