Reorganization of gap junctions after focused ultrasound blood-brain barrier opening in the rat brain.

ABSTRACT: Ultrasound-induced opening of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is an emerging technique for targeted drug delivery to the central nervous system. Gap junctions allow transfer of information between adjacent cells and are responsible for tissue homeostasis. We examined the effect of ultrasound-induced BBB opening on the structure of gap junctions in cortical neurons, expressing Connexin 36, and astrocytes, expressing Connexin 43, after focused 1-MHz ultrasound exposure at 1.25 MPa of one hemisphere together with intravenous microbubble (Optison, Oslo, Norway) application. Quantification of immunofluorescence signals revealed that, compared with non-insonicated hemispheres, small-sized Connexin 43 and 36 gap-junctional plaques were markedly reduced in areas with BBB breakdown after 3 to 6 hours

SUBMITTER: Alonso A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2949216 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature