title: Disruption of central nervous system barriers in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: The delicate microenvironment of the central nervous system (CNS) is protected by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCB). These barriers function in distinct CNS compartments and their anatomical basis lay on the junctional proteins present in endothelial cells for the BBB and in the choroidal epithelium for the BCB. During neuroinflammatory conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS) and its murine model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), activation or damage of the various cellular components of these barriers facilitate leukocyte infiltration leading to oligodendrocyte death, axonal damage, demyelination and lesion development. This manuscript will review in detail the features of these barriers under physiological and pathological conditions, particularly when focal immune activation promotes the loss of the BBB and BCB phenotype, the upregulation of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) and the recruitment of immune cells.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Research Laboratory, Center of Excellence in Neuromics, CHUM-Notre-Dame Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Jorge Ivan
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cayrol
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prat
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000276:immunology; D018925:Chemokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004681:Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D016023:Integrins / Q000276:immunology; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000276:immunology; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D019087:Selectins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D018925:Chemokines; D016023:Integrins; D019087:Selectins