The Central Nervous System Barriers in Health and Disease

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 10636

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute for Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Research, Göttingen, Germany
Interests: blood-brain barrier; immune cells; multiple sclerosis; experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis; two-photon microscopy; B cells; T cells; dendritic cells; macrophages; astrocytes; microglia; oligodendrocytes; neurons; central nervous system; autoimmune disease; ion channels; calcium signaling
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The central nervous system (CNS) is protected by different barriers that allow its development, maintain its homeostasis, and play a predominant role during diseases. These barriers can be found at the interface between the brain/spinal cord parenchyma and the lumen of blood vessels (blood-brain barrier, blood-spinal cord barrier), the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the choroid plexus blood vessels (blood-CSF barrier), and between the CSF and the meningeal blood vessels (meningeal barrier). In addition, the blood-retinal barrier protects neuronal tissues found in the eyes and the fetal CSF-brain barrier protects the developing CNS. The complexity of these barriers has provided the medical and scientific community with many challenges over the years. Further understanding their intricacies will help on one hand prevent neuroinflammation and restore homeostasis, while, on the other hand, allow targeted access to novel therapeutic approach.

The aim of this special issue of the journal Biomolecules is to highlight biological functions and cell-cell interactions involving these CNS barriers during states of health and disease. Original research manuscripts, reviews and short communications are invited.

Dr. Marc André Lécuyer
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • CNS barriers
  • neuroinflammation
  • homeostasis
  • therapeutic approaches

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

24 pages, 2138 KiB  
Review
Breaching Brain Barriers: B Cell Migration in Multiple Sclerosis
by Carla Rodriguez-Mogeda, Sabela Rodríguez-Lorenzo, Jiji Attia, Jack van Horssen, Maarten E. Witte and Helga E. de Vries
Biomolecules 2022, 12(6), 800; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12060800 - 7 Jun 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5890
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) known for the manifestation of demyelinated lesions throughout the CNS, leading to neurodegeneration. To date, not all pathological mechanisms that drive disease progression are known, but the clinical benefits of [...] Read more.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) known for the manifestation of demyelinated lesions throughout the CNS, leading to neurodegeneration. To date, not all pathological mechanisms that drive disease progression are known, but the clinical benefits of anti-CD20 therapies have put B cells in the spotlight of MS research. Besides their pathological effects in the periphery in MS, B cells gain access to the CNS where they can contribute to disease pathogenesis. Specifically, B cells accumulate in perivascular infiltrates in the brain parenchyma and the subarachnoid spaces of the meninges, but are virtually absent from the choroid plexus. Hence, the possible migration of B cells over the blood–brain-, blood–meningeal-, and blood–cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barriers appears to be a crucial step to understanding B cell-mediated pathology. To gain more insight into the molecular mechanisms that regulate B cell trafficking into the brain, we here provide a comprehensive overview of the different CNS barriers in health and in MS and how they translate into different routes for B cell migration. In addition, we review the mechanisms of action of diverse therapies that deplete peripheral B cells and/or block B cell migration into the CNS. Importantly, this review shows that studying the different routes of how B cells enter the inflamed CNS should be the next step to understanding this disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Central Nervous System Barriers in Health and Disease)
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21 pages, 1796 KiB  
Review
The Blood–Brain Barrier—A Key Player in Multiple Sclerosis Disease Mechanisms
by Thomas Gabriel Schreiner, Constantin Romanescu and Bogdan Ovidiu Popescu
Biomolecules 2022, 12(4), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12040538 - 2 Apr 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4051
Abstract
Over the past decade, multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic neuroinflammatory disease with severe personal and social consequences, has undergone a steady increase in incidence and prevalence rates worldwide. Despite ongoing research and the development of several novel therapies, MS pathology remains incompletely understood, [...] Read more.
Over the past decade, multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic neuroinflammatory disease with severe personal and social consequences, has undergone a steady increase in incidence and prevalence rates worldwide. Despite ongoing research and the development of several novel therapies, MS pathology remains incompletely understood, and the prospect for a curative treatment continues to be unpromising in the near future. A sustained research effort, however, should contribute to a deeper understanding of underlying disease mechanisms, which will undoubtedly yield improved results in drug development. In recent years, the blood–brain barrier (BBB) has increasingly become the focus of many studies as it appears to be involved in both MS disease onset and progression. More specifically, neurovascular unit damage is believed to be involved in the critical process of CNS immune cell penetration, which subsequently favors the development of a CNS-specific immune response, leading to the classical pathological and clinical hallmarks of MS. The aim of the current narrative review is to merge the relevant evidence on the role of the BBB in MS pathology in a comprehensive and succinct manner. Firstly, the physiological structure and functions of the BBB as a component of the more complex neurovascular unit are presented. Subsequently, the authors review the specific alteration of the BBB encountered in different stages of MS, focusing on both the modifications of BBB cells in neuroinflammation and the CNS penetration of immune cells. Finally, the currently accepted theories on neurodegeneration in MS are summarized. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Central Nervous System Barriers in Health and Disease)
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