Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability: Is 5-Hydroxytryptamine Receptor Type 4 a Game Changer?

ABSTRACT: Serotonin affects many functions in the body, both in the central nervous system (CNS) and the periphery. However, its effect on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in separating these two worlds has been scarcely investigated. The aim of this work was to characterize the serotonin receptor 5-HT4 in the hCMEC/D3 cell line, in the rat and the human BBB. We also examined the effect of prucalopride, a 5-HT4 receptor agonist, on the permeability of the hCMEC/D3 in an in vitro model of BBB. We then confirmed our observations by in vivo experiments. In this work, we show that the 5-HT4 receptor is expressed by hCMEC/D3 cells and in the capillaries of rat and human brains. Prucalopride increases the BBB permeability by downregulating the expression of the tight junction protein, occludin. This effect i

SUBMITTER: Becker G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8619119 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature