Endothelial Cell Heterogeneity of BloodBrain Barrier Gene Expression: Analysis by LCM/qRT-PCR

The brain vasculature, and more specifically the microvasculature, represents a center of interest for the investigation of the brain. Indeed, this tissue at the interface between the circulatory system and the central nervous system (CNS) actively participates in the brain function either for the brain homeostasis or for the entrance of compounds or cells in the brain. One particular feature of the brain microvasculature, the blood–brain barrier (BBB), is the site of several restrictions. However, although representing a large exchange surface between blood and CNS, microvessels are still difficult to study due to their size and their position inside the CNS. The technological evolutions such as laser capture microdissection (LCM) give the opportunity to reach CNS microvessels for gene expression profiling analysis. This chapter presents the expression profiling of captured microvessels studied with qRT-PCR technology.