The neonatal Fc receptor, FcRn, mediates endocytic recycling pathway that prevents degradation of IgG and is expressed in most endothelial cells. The blood–brain barrier (BBB), formed by brain endothelial cells sealed with tight junctions, restricts transport of IgG from the blood to the ...

Blood–brain barrier (BBB) constituted primarily by the capillary endothelial cells functions to maintain a constant environment for the brain, by preventing or slowing down the passage of a variety of blood-borne substances, such as serum proteins, chemical compounds, ions, and hormo ...

Assessment of tight junction integrity in vitro is fundamental when studying molecular processes that may be implicated in barrier dysfunction. At the blood brain and inner blood retina barrier (BBB and iBRB, respectively) adjacent endothelial cells lining the microvasculature h ...

The methods for assessment of endothelial barrier permeability are vital tools of experimental biology. They allow us to measure permeability of endothelial monolayer in cell culture and in lung vessels or to determine formation of tissue edema resulting from increased permeabili ...

Increased vascular permeability is the hallmark of inflammation. Here, we describe three methods to assess vascular permeability in cell culture: (1) Impedance measurements of endothelial cell monolayers that allow to monitor changes in cell shape in real time. (2) Diffusion of fluore ...

Endothelial permeability measurements of intact vascular beds and monolayer cultures are used to describe transport of small molecules (ions, water, and nutrients), macromolecules and plasma protein across the vascular endothelia. Disruption of the endothelial barrier lea ...

Alterations in endothelial permeability are a hallmark of inflammation as well as the underlying cause of many clinical syndromes. Quantifying changes in endothelial barrier properties to water and macromolecules can be an important means of assessing the degree of cellular injury ...

A simulation environment for the numerical calculation of permeation processes through human skin has been developed. In geometry models that represent the actual cell morphology of stratum corneum (SC) and deeper skin layers, the diffusive transport is simulated by a finite volume me ...

Endothelial cells lining the vessels of the vasculature and the cell–cell junctions, which join them, �provide the primary barrier to the passage of fluids, immune cells, and macromolecules between the bloodstream and the tissues. Appropriate and dynamic regulation of this barrier is re ...

The endothelial barrier separates the inner blood compartment from the surrounding tissues. At the molecular level, adhesion molecules accumulate at the endothelial cell–cell junction and contribute to maintain vascular integrity. An increase in the endothelial permeabili ...

Increased microvascular solute permeability underlies many forms of pathophysiological conditions, including inflammation. Endothelial monolayer cultures provide an excellent model system which allows systemic and mechanistic study of endothelial barrier func ...

The use of an in vitro system based on primary cultures of Sertoli cells isolated from rat testes has greatly facilitated the study of the blood-testis barrier in recent years. Herein, we summarize the detailed procedures on the isolation of undifferentiated Sertoli cells from 20-day-old rat t ...

The testis is a heterogeneous organ that comprises a number of cell types, including germ cells at �different stages in their maturation, differentiated neighbor nursing cells, and endocrine somatic cells. Despite such cellular heterogeneity the testis is highly organized, with germ ...

The urothelium plays a critical role in the bladder as a permeability barrier to urine. Whereas it was once considered a simple physical barrier, it is increasingly evident that urothelium has a regulatory role in maintaining the barrier both through self-repair and by mediating the transpo ...

Epithelial surfaces of the body are a key component of host defense by providing a mechanical barrier against potentially harmful substances. The respiratory tract is constantly challenged by a wide range of airborne pathogens and particulates, and provides not only a mucosal barrier, b ...

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a specialized epithelium lying in the interface between the �neural retina and the choriocapillaris where it forms the outer blood–retinal barrier (BRB). The tight junctions (TJ)s expressed in the outer BRB control fluids and solutes that enter the r ...

Epithelial tissue guarantees proper performance of many organs, e.g., the kidneys, the gastrointestinal organs, and endocrine glands. Epithelial layers are responsible for the formation and maintenance of separate compartments with distinct solute composition. This is achie ...

Ouabain, a toxic of vegetal origin used for centuries to treat heart failure, has recently been demonstrated to have an endogenous counterpart, most probably ouabain itself, which behaves as a hormone. Therefore, the challenge now is to discover the physiological role of hormone ouabain. We h ...

Uracil–DNA glycosylases (UDG/UNG) are enzymes that remove uracil from DNA and initiate base-excision repair. These enzymes play a key role in maintaining genomic integrity by reducing the mutagenic events caused by G:C to A:T transition mutations. The recent finding that a family of RNA edit ...

Synchronized cells have been invaluable in many kinds of cell cycle and cell proliferation studies. Butyrate induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in Madin Darby Bovine Kidney (MDBK) cells. We explore the possibility of using butyrate-blocked cells to obtain synchronized cells and we c ...