Biology and Models of the Blood-Brain Barrier

Cynthia Hajal, Baptiste Le Roi, Roger D. Kamm, Ben M. Maoz*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

84 Scopus citations

Abstract

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is one of the most selective endothelial barriers. An understanding of its cellular, morphological, and biological properties in health and disease is necessary to develop therapeutics that can be transported from blood to brain. In vivo models have provided some insight into these features and transport mechanisms adopted at the brain, yet they have failed as a robust platform for the translation of results into clinical outcomes. In this article, we provide a general overview of major BBB features and describe various models that have been designed to replicate this barrier and neurological pathologies linked with the BBB. We propose several key parameters and design characteristics that can be employed to engineer physiologically relevant models of the blood-brain interface and highlight the need for a consensus in the measurement of fundamental properties of this barrier.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)359-384
Number of pages26
JournalAnnual Review of Biomedical Engineering
Volume23
DOIs
StatePublished - 13 Jul 2021

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Cancer InstituteU01CA202177
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme851765

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Biology and Models of the Blood-Brain Barrier'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this