title: In vitro model of the blood-brain barrier established by co-culture of primary cerebral microvascular endothelial and astrocyte cells.
abstract: Drugs for the treatment and prevention of nervous system diseases must permeate the blood-brain barrier to take effect. In vitro models of the blood-brain barrier are therefore important in the investigation of drug permeation mechanisms. However, to date, no unified method has been described for establishing a blood-brain barrier model. Here, we modified an in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier by seeding brain microvascular endothelial cells and astrocytes from newborn rats on a polyester Transwell cell culture membrane with 0.4-µm pores, and conducted transepithelial electrical resistance measurements, leakage tests and assays for specific blood-brain barrier enzymes. We show that the permeability of our model is as low as that of the blood-brain barrier in vivo. Our model will be a valuable tool in the study of the mechanisms of action of neuroprotective drugs.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, Ministry of Education; Institute for Pharmacodynamics and Safety Evaluation of Chinese Medicine, Anhui Academy of Chinese; College of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, Ministry of Education; Institute for Pharmacodynamics and Safety Evaluation of Chinese Medicine, Anhui Academy of Chinese; College of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7184-4719
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, Ministry of Education; Institute for Pharmacodynamics and Safety Evaluation of Chinese Medicine, Anhui Academy of Chinese; College of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, Ministry of Education; Institute for Pharmacodynamics and Safety Evaluation of Chinese Medicine, Anhui Academy of Chinese; College of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Yun
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, Ministry of Education; Institute for Pharmacodynamics and Safety Evaluation of Chinese Medicine, Anhui Academy of Chinese; College of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, Ministry of Education; Institute for Pharmacodynamics and Safety Evaluation of Chinese Medicine, Anhui Academy of Chinese; College of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Xing-Xing
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Piao
keywords: Transwell chamber; astrocytes; blood-brain barrier; brain microvascular endothelial cells; co-culture; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; permeability