Delayed astrocytic contact with cerebral blood vessels in FGF ‐2 deficient mice does not compromise permeability properties at the developing blood‐brain barrier

In this study we examined barrier function in newborn, juvenile and adult mice lacking fibroblast growth factor‐2 (FGF‐2), which has been shown to result in altered astroglial differentiation during development. We show that during development of FGF‐2 deficient mice the astroglial contacts with cerebral blood vessels are delayed compared with wild‐type animals. However, this delay did not result in changes to the permeability properties of the blood brain barrier as assessed by exclusion of either small or larger sized molecules at this interface. In addition cerebral vessels were positive for tight‐junction proteins and we observed no difference in the ultrastructure of the tight‐junctions. The results indicate that the direct contact of astroglia processes to cerebral blood vessels is not necessary for either the formation of the tight‐junctions or for basic permeability properties and function of the blood‐brain barrier. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2016
Source: Journal of Neurobiology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Research Article Source Type: research