Linked Life Data

17635647

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/17635647

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
2007-7-19
pubmed:abstractText
The tight junctions (TJs) are key players in the control of blood-brain barrier (BBB) properties, the most complex TJs in the vascular system being found in the endothelial cells of brain capillaries. One of the main TJs proteins is occludin, which anchors plasma membranes of neighbour cells and is present in large amounts in the brain endothelia. Previous studies demonstrated that disruption of BBB in various pathological situations associates with changes in occludin expression, and this change could be responsible for malfunction of BBB. Therefore in this study, applying an immunohistochemical approach, we decided to explore the occludin expression in frontal cortex (FC) and basal ganglia in ageing control, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VD) brains, as far as all these pathologies associate microangiopathy and disruption of BBB. Strikingly, we found selected neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes expressing occludin, in all cases studied. To estimate the number of occludin-expressing neurons, we applied a stereological approach with random systematic sampling and the unbiased optical fractionator method. We report here a significant increase in ratio of occludin-expressing neurons in FC and basal ganglia regions in both AD and VD as compared to ageing controls. Within the cerebral cortex, occludin was selectively expressed by pyramidal neurons, which are the ones responsible for cognitive processes and affected by AD pathology. Our findings could be important in unravelling new pathogenic pathways in dementia disorders and new functions of occludin and TJs.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
1582-1838
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
11
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
569-79
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:articleTitle
Occludin is overexpressed in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
pubmed:affiliation
Division of Experimental Geriatrics, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Department of NVS, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't