These proceedings review and discuss the different aspects of the biology of the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) and its involvement in the pathogenesis of brain disorders. The BBB, formed by a complex cellular system of endothelial cells, astroglia, pericytes, perivascular macrophages and a basal membrane, serves as a controlled functional gate to CNS. In vitro and in vivo models have been established to study the cellular and molecular interaction within the BBB and between the BBB and the neural cells. The structural and functional integrity of the BBB was shown to be dramatically altered during...

The vasculature of the central nervous system (eNS) is characterized by the existence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which can be regarded as both an anatomical and physiological phenomenon. The BBB is formed by a complex cellular system of endothelial cells, astroglia, pericytes, perivascular macrophages and a basal membrane, although the anatomic substrate of the BBB is the interendothelial tight junctions that form a continuous sealing. The BBB serves as an exquisitely controlled, functional gate to the eNS. It not only protects the brain from agents in the blood that could impair...