Blood-Brain Barrier: Cellular and Molecular Biology

This groundbreaking volume is the first to focus on the cellular and molecular biology of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a membrane that, until recently, was studied only from the perspective of whole-organ physiology. The book presents concepts and experimental methods that are of vital importance to neuroscientists, cellular and molecular biologists, pharmacologists developing strategies for drug delivery to the brain, and immunologists studying lymphocyte trafficking and antigen presentation at the blood-brain barrier.Sections of the book cover cell-cell interactions; brain capillary endothelial subcellular organelle function; brain microvascular signal transduction phenomena; and molecular cloning and expression of brain capillary-specific genes. The contributors' reviews of recent research in these areas provide crucial insights into how the cells of the BBB acquire their specialized biochemical properties, and how these cells transport nutrients, peptides, proteins, and immune cells from circulating blood to the brain.