Vascular amyloidosis impairs the gliovascular unit in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT: Reduced cerebral blood flow impairs cognitive function and ultimately causes irreparable damage to brain tissue. The gliovascular unit, composed of neural and vascular cells, assures sufficient blood supply to active brain regions. Astrocytes, vascular smooth muscle cells, and pericytes are important players within the gliovascular unit modulating vessel diameters. While the importance of the gliovascular unit and the signals involved in regulating local blood flow to match neuronal activity is now well recognized, surprisingly little is known about this interface in disease. Alzheimer's disease is associated with reduced cerebral blood flow. Here, we studied how the gliovascular unit is affected in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, using a combination of ex vivo and in vivo imaging ap

SUBMITTER: Kimbrough IF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5006220 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature