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Immunofluorescent labeling of tight junctions in the rat brain and spinal cord
Author(s) -
Smith George M.,
Shine H. David
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/0736-5748(92)90028-x
Subject(s) - tight junction , choroid plexus , spinal cord , leptomeninges , blood–brain barrier , central nervous system , neuroscience , anatomy , biology , pathology , chemistry , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology
Tight junctions may play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the blood‐brain barrier. These junctions can be individually visualized using electron microscopy but no current technique is able to provide a more global picture of the presence and density of tight junctions in central nervous system tissue. We used an antibody that recognizes a high molecular weight protein (ZO‐1) associated with tight junctions, to identify these specialized junctions within the rat brain and spinal cord. Immunofluorescent labeling showed a network of tight junctions between cells in the brain vasculature, leptomeninges and choroid plexus, and between tanycytes lining the floor of the third ventricle and the central canal of the spinal cord. Anti‐ZO‐1 labeled the majority of cells associated with the blood‐brain barrier and may prove a useful marker, possibly in conjunction with functional dye studies, in evaluating the anatomical and functional integrity of the blood‐brain barrier.