Transfection of brain capillary endothelial cells in primary culture with defined blood-brain barrier properties.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Primary brain capillary endothelial cells (BCECs) are a promising tool to study the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vitro, as they maintain many important characteristics of the BBB in vivo, especially when co-cultured with pericytes and/or astrocytes. A novel strategy for drug delivery to the brain is to transform BCECs into protein factories by genetic modifications leading to secretion of otherwise BBB impermeable proteins into the central nervous system. However, a huge challenge underlying this strategy is to enable transfection of non-mitotic BCECs, taking a non-viral approach. We therefore aimed to study transfection in primary, non-mitotic BCECs cultured with defined BBB properties without disrupting the cells' integrity.

Methods

Primary cultures of BCECs, pe

SUBMITTER: Burkhart A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4527128 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature