Progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice and neutrophil-mediated blood-brain barrier dysfunction requires non-muscle myosin light chain kinase.

ABSTRACT: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction occurs in numerous central nervous system disorders. Unfortunately, a limited understanding of the mechanisms governing barrier function hinders the identification and assessment of BBB-targeted therapies. Previously, we found that non-muscle myosin light chain kinase (nmMLCK) negatively regulates the tight junction protein claudin-5 in brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMVECs) under inflammatory conditions. Here, we used complementary animal and primary cell co-culture models to further investigate nmMLCK and claudin-5 during neuroinflammation. We found that nmMLCK-knockout mice resisted experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), including paralysis, demyelination, neutrophil infiltration, and BBB dysfunction. However, transiently si

SUBMITTER: Beard RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11806455 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature