Abstract
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a semipermeable and extremely selective system in the central nervous system of most vertebrates, that separates blood from the brain's extracellular fluid. It plays a vital role in regulating the transport of necessary materials for brain function, furthermore, protecting it from foreign substances in the blood that could damage it. In this review, we searched in Google Scholar, Pubmed, Web of Science, and Saudi Digital Library for the various cells and components that support the development and function of this barrier, as well as the different pathways to transport the various molecules between blood and the brain. We also discussed the aspects that lead to BBB dysfunction and its neuropathological consequences, with the identification of some of the most important biomarkers that might be used as a biomarker to predict the BBB disturbances. This comprehensive overview of BBB will pave the way for future studies to focus on developing more specific targeting systems in material delivery as a future approach that assists in combinatorial therapy or nanotherapy to destroy or modify this barrier in pathological conditions such as brain tumors and brain stem cell carcinomas.
Highlights
The human brain has 644 kilometers of blood vessels that provide oxygen, energy, metabolites, and nutrients to brain cells while removing carbon dioxide as well as other metabolic wastes from the circulatory system [1]
blood-brain barrier (BBB) has been primarily believed to be discovered by Paul Ehrlich’s research, Liddelow evidenced that this idea was first observed by Ridley (1653–1708), where he noticed the difference in the permeability of beeswax and mercury in brain tissues from other tissues, and he mentioned this in the book Anatomy of the Brain, which was published in 1695 [6,7,8]
We investigated in previous databases the relationship between the structure and the function of the BBB and the transport pathways of different substances between blood and the brain tissue
Summary
The human brain has 644 kilometers of blood vessels that provide oxygen, energy, metabolites, and nutrients to brain cells while removing carbon dioxide as well as other metabolic wastes from the circulatory system [1]. The brain requires 20% of the body’s glucose and oxygen, while accounting for just 2% of total body mass, and can quickly increase blood supply and oxygen transfer to its active areas, a mechanism that is known as neurovascular coupling [1, 2] This control is aided by barrier layers at the main interfaces between blood and neural tissue called blood-brain barrier (BBB) [3] (Figure 1). Cells that line the walls of these capillaries together around their borders By these junctions, water-soluble agents in the blood are prevented from crossing through cells and from readily accessing the fluid environment of cerebral tissues. This review is providing an overview of the structure and function of BBB and the different pathways to transport the various molecules between the blood and brain, as well as the factors that lead to BBB dysfunction, discussing some of the most significant biomarkers that may be utilized to anticipate BBB disruption
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