Computational Nanoscopy of Tight Junctions at the Blood-Brain Barrier Interface.

ABSTRACT: The selectivity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is primarily maintained by tight junctions (TJs), which act as gatekeepers of the paracellular space by blocking blood-borne toxins, drugs, and pathogens from entering the brain. The BBB presents a significant challenge in designing neurotherapeutics, so a comprehensive understanding of the TJ architecture can aid in the design of novel therapeutics. Unraveling the intricacies of TJs with conventional experimental techniques alone is challenging, but recently developed computational tools can provide a valuable molecular-level understanding of TJ architecture. We employed the computational methods toolkit to investigate claudin-5, a highly expressed TJ protein at the BBB interface. Our approach started with the prediction of claudin-5 struct

SUBMITTER: Rajagopal N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6888702 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature