Rab7a is required to degrade select blood-brain barrier junctional proteins after ischemic stroke.

ABSTRACT: The integrity of adherens and tight junctions is critical for blood-brain barrier (BBB) function in the healthy brain. Disassembly of cell junctions due to degradation of adherens and tight junction-associated proteins leads to acute BBB dysfunction after ischemic stroke, but the mechanisms of this process are not fully understood. Using genetic studies in mice coupled with histopathological analysis of the brains after ischemic stroke, we demonstrate that endothelial cell deletion of Rab7a, a small GTPase crucial for protein degradation through the endolysosomal system, reduces acute BBB leakage and improves neuronal health in mice after ischemic stroke by reducing the degradation of select adherens and tight junction proteins, and preserving the structural morphology of tight junctions a

SUBMITTER: Cottarelli A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12482340 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature