Isolation and culture of microvascular endothelial cells from murine spinal cord.

The isolation and culture of spinal cord microvascular endothelial cells (SCMEC), which form the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB), is described. Though morphologically similar to brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC) that form the blood-brain barrier (BBB), SCMEC express reduced amounts of several prominent BBB proteins, including tight junction-associated proteins ZO-1 and occludin, adherens junction-associated proteins beta-catenin and VE-cadherin, and the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein. These distinguishing features may reflect more widespread differences between the BBB and BSCB that impact physiological and pathophysiological processes.