Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible and progressive neurodegenerative disease accompanied by aging, followed by memory impairment and cognitive decline. Although numerous attempts have been made to develop treatments for AD, most clinical trials have failed to delay or stop the progression of AD. Electroacupuncture (EA) is a complementary alternative medicine technique widely used to treat pain, inflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption is a known pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. Moreover, amyloid beta deposition increases BBB permeability and produces inflammatory cytokines induced by glial activation. However, our previous study revealed that EA treatment at the Taegye acupoints (KI3) improves memory impairment through anti-neuroinflammation and increases glucose metabolism in 5XFAD mice. Therefore, we evaluated whether EA treatment at KI3 regulates BBB dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex of 5XFAD mice. For this study, 6.5-month-old 5XFAD mice were treated with EA stimulation at KI3 three times a week for two weeks. Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry were used to evaluate the effects of EA treatment on BBB dysfunction. We found that EA stimulation attenuates BBB integrity by protecting BBB tight junction proteins (CD31, aquaporin 4, occludin, and claudin 5) in the prefrontal cortex of 5XFAD mice. In addition, EA treatment regulated inflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-17, IL-23, IFN-ɣ, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factors [GM-CSF], and IL-10) in the peripheral circulation of 5XFAD mice. Therefore, our data suggest that EA treatment could be a therapeutic agent for enhancing BBB dysfunction in AD.

The use of pigs in neuroscience has increased over the past years because the pigs are closely related to humans in terms of anatomy and physiology. Especially, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) maintains the homeostatic microenvironment in the central nervous system (CNS) and they can provide a valuable tool for studying the neurobiology. However, only a few putative blood-brain barrier (BBB) models have been generated by co-culture of porcine primary cells. The fundamental problem is that they lose some of their phenotypes when maintained in vitro for long-term culture. To establish improved in vitro porcine BBB models, we differentiated novel brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) from porcine induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using a modified human-based protocol. Briefly, the dissociated single cells from iPSCs were seeded in Geltrex. For differentiation, cells were maintained for 3 days of expansion and then switched to unconditioned medium (UM) lacking bFGF for 6-7 days. Then, we subcultured cells onto collagen/fibronectin coated plates and changed BMEC medium for 2-3 weeks. About two weeks later, we observed a cluster of round cells surrounded by spindle shaped adherent cells termed as colony-forming units (CFU) of putative BMECs. Over time, the cluster of cells disappears and remained adherent spindle-shaped cells showed properties of endothelial cells. Although further studies will be needed, this study would be a great comparative analysis of the porcine and human in vitro BBB model.

감성을 비롯한 인간의 뇌 기능은 혈-뇌 장벽을 매개로 약물의 작용에 의해 직접적인 영향을 받을 수 있다. 이 연구는 mannitol의 투여경로와 양, 농도에 의한 혈-뇌 장벽(blood-brain barrier, BBB)의 변화를 알아보고자 수행되었다. 실험동물로서 흰쥐에 20%의 mannitol을 오른쪽 뇌경동맥(internal carotid artery, ICA)을 통하여 주입하였고, 다른 그룹에서는 femoral vein을 통하여 주입하였다. 또한 각기 다른 경로를 이용하여 Evans blue(EB) 염색 시료를 투여한 후 BBB의 변성 정도를 확인하였다. 실험결과 ICA를 통해서 mannitol이 주입된 동물은 동측(ipsilateral side)이 대측(contralateral side)에 비해 EB 염색시료에 의해 영향을 많이 받았으나, femoral vein을 통해서 주입한 경우에는 mannitol의 양과 농도를 증가시켜도 EB 염색시료에 의한 영향이 거의 나타나지 않았다. 이러한 결과는 비록 EB 염색시료의 주입이 ICA를 통해서 또는 정맥경로를 따라서 이루어지더라도, BBB의 변성은 ICA를 통해서 이루어진다고 볼 수 있으며, 이러한 결과는 BBB의 제한적인 조절작용을 통해 인간의 뇌 기능을 이해하는데 좋은 방법을 제공할 수 있다는 것을 시사한다.

폐경기 여성은 동령 남성보다 퇴행적 뇌질환의 빈도가 유의적으로 높으며 이를 예방개선하기 위한 목적으로 에스트로젠 대체요법이 시행되고 있으나 유방암과 자궁암 유발 위험성이 제시되고 있어 콩류 등에 다량 함유되어 있는 phytoestrogen류인 isoflavone을 이용한 대체요법 개발이 활발하다. 밀착결합에 의해 제공되는 혈액-뇌확산장벽은 뇌의 항상성 조절에 중요한 역할이 있으며 다양한 뇌질환에서 변형이 일어난다. 본 연구는 난소절제 백서 모델에서 폐경