We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Genetically Engineered Mouse Model Reveals Key to Formation of the Blood-Brain Barrier

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 05 Jul 2015
Print article
Image: The photomicrograph shows the head of a mouse embryo in which the pericytes are visible as blue dots along the blood vessel (Photo courtesy of the University of Gothenburg).
Image: The photomicrograph shows the head of a mouse embryo in which the pericytes are visible as blue dots along the blood vessel (Photo courtesy of the University of Gothenburg).
Use of a mouse model that had been genetically engineered to lack the gene that encodes the forkhead transcription factor Foxf2 has helped to explain how pericytes, cells that line the capillaries, form and maintain the blood-brain barrier.

Pericytes are critical for maturation of the brain's blood vessels and development of the blood-brain barrier, but their role in maintenance of the adult blood-brain barrier, and how central nervous system pericytes differ from those of other tissues, is less well understood.

Pericytes are contractile cells that wrap around the endothelial cells of capillaries throughout the body. Pericytes are embedded in basement membrane where they communicate with endothelial cells by means of both direct physical contact and paracrine signaling. In the brain, these cells are a key component of the neurovascular unit, which includes endothelial cells, astrocytes, and neurons. Pericytes help sustain the blood–brain barrier as well as several other homeostatic and hemostatic functions of the brain by regulating capillary blood flow, the clearance and phagocytosis of cellular debris, and the permeability of the blood–brain barrier. A deficiency of pericytes in the central nervous system can cause the blood–brain barrier to break down, resulting in inflammation or death of brain tissues.

Investigators at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) recently demonstrated that the forkhead transcription factor Foxf2 was specifically expressed in pericytes of the brain and that embryos of mice genetically engineered to lack the gene for Foxf2 developed intracranial hemorrhages, perivascular edema, thinning of the vascular basal lamina, and a leaky blood-brain barrier.

FOX (Forkhead box) proteins are a family of transcription factors that play important roles in regulating the expression of genes involved in cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, and longevity. Many FOX proteins are important to embryonic development. FOX proteins also have pioneering transcription activity by being able to bind condensed chromatin during cell differentiation processes. The defining feature of FOX proteins is the forkhead box, a sequence of 80 to 100 amino acids forming a motif that binds to DNA.

"Mice that have too little or too much Foxf2 develop various types of defects in the brain's blood vessels," said senior author Dr. Peter Carlsson, professor of chemistry and molecular biology at the University of Gothenburg.

Major changes in a region of chromosome six have been associated with an increased risk of stroke, but it has not been known which of the genes in the area were responsible. "The Foxf2 gene is an extremely interesting candidate, as it is located right in the middle of this region, and research is under way now in collaboration with clinical geneticists to investigate the extent to which variations in the Foxf2 gene affect people's risk of suffering a stroke," said Dr. Carlsson.

The study was published in the June 25, 2015, online edition of the journal Developmental Cell.

Related Links:
University of Gothenburg


Platinum Member
COVID-19 Rapid Test
OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test
Specimen Collection & Transport
Complement 3 (C3) Test
GPP-100 C3 Kit
Gold Member
Reagent Reservoirs
Reagent Reservoirs

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: Reaching speeds up to 6,000 RPM, this centrifuge forms the basis for a new type of inexpensive, POC biomedical test (Photo courtesy of Duke University)

POC Biomedical Test Spins Water Droplet Using Sound Waves for Cancer Detection

Exosomes, tiny cellular bioparticles carrying a specific set of proteins, lipids, and genetic materials, play a crucial role in cell communication and hold promise for non-invasive diagnostics.... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The study showed the blood-based cancer screening test detects 83% of people with colorectal cancer with specificity of 90% (Photo courtesy of Guardant Health)

Blood Test Shows 83% Accuracy for Detecting Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is the second biggest cause of cancer deaths among adults in the U.S., with forecasts suggesting 53,010 people might die from it in 2024. While fewer older adults are dying from this... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The Gazelle Hb Variant Test (Photo courtesy of Hemex Health)

First Affordable and Rapid Test for Beta Thalassemia Demonstrates 99% Diagnostic Accuracy

Hemoglobin disorders rank as some of the most prevalent monogenic diseases globally. Among various hemoglobin disorders, beta thalassemia, a hereditary blood disorder, affects about 1.5% of the world's... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The new platform is designed to perform blood-based diagnoses of nontuberculosis mycobacteria (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

New Blood Test Cuts Diagnosis Time for Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Infections from Months to Hours

Breathing in nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a common experience for many people. These bacteria are present in water systems, soil, and dust all over the world and usually don't cause any problems.... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: These new assays are being developed for use on the recently introduced DxI 9000 Immunoassay Analyzer (Photo courtesy of Beckman Coulter)

Beckman Coulter and Fujirebio Expand Partnership on Neurodegenerative Disease Diagnostics

Beckman Coulter Diagnostics (Brea, CA, USA) and Fujirebio Diagnostics (Tokyo, Japan) have expanded their partnership focused on the development, manufacturing and clinical adoption of neurodegenerative... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.