title: Molecular biology of the blood-brain barrier.
abstract: Molecular biological investigations into the brain capillary endothelium and microvasculature, which forms the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vivo, can provide the platform for the discovery and the molecular cloning of BBB-specific genes. Novel BBB genes can be discovered with either a genomics-based approach such as subtractive suppressive hybridization, or a proteomics approach using subtractive antibody expression cloning. BBB-specific genes are disproportionately transporter genes encoding either for carrier-mediated transporters, active efflux transporters, or receptor-mediated transporters. The discovery of new BBB transporters can lead to the development of new approaches to brain drug delivery using endogenous brain endothelial transporters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, UCLA, Warren Hall 13-164, 900 Veteran Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA. wpardridge@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Pardridge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular / Q000379:methods; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D015894:Genome, Human / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins