Department of Basic Pathology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
Department of Surgical Pathology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
J Cell Physiol. 2021 Oct;236(10):7134-7143. doi: 10.1002/jcp.30357. Epub 2021 Mar 10.
The neurovascular unit (NVU) consists of neurons, glial cells, microvascular cells, and extracellular matrix, and is involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes in the central nervous system (CNS). Within the NVU, the microvascular endothelial cells and pericytes principally contribute to maintaining the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Various types of cells are connected to each other in the NVU by diverse cell adhesion molecules, of which claudin-5 (CLDN5) is by far the most abundantly expressed tight-junction protein in brain microvascular endothelial cells and absolutely required for the maintenance of the BBB. This review highlights recent progress in understanding the region-specific regulation and dysregulation of CLDN5 expression in CNS health and disorders. We also discuss how CLDN5 expression is regionally disrupted within the NVU. In addition, we focus on the link between cell adhesion and transcription factor signalings and describe the possible involvement of CLDN5-adhesion signaling in brain health and disorders.
神经血管单元 (NVU) 由神经元、神经胶质细胞、微血管细胞和细胞外基质组成，参与中枢神经系统 (CNS) 中的多种生理和病理过程。在 NVU 中，微血管内皮细胞和周细胞主要有助于维持血脑屏障 (BBB) 的完整性。各种类型的细胞通过不同的细胞黏附分子相互连接，其中 Claudin-5 (CLDN5) 是脑微血管内皮细胞中表达最丰富的紧密连接蛋白，绝对是 BBB 维持所必需的。本综述强调了最近在理解 CNS 健康和疾病中 CLDN5 表达的区域特异性调节和失调方面的进展。我们还讨论了 CLDN5 表达在 NVU 中如何被区域破坏。此外，我们专注于细胞黏附和转录因子信号之间的联系，并描述 CLDN5 黏附信号在大脑健康和疾病中的可能参与。
