Research Progress of Blood Brain Barrier Model and Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Its Permeability / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Blood brain barrier (BBB), as barrier between plasma and brain cells formed by brain capillary wall and glial cells and barrier between plasma and cerebrospinal fluid formed by choroid plexus, can prevent some brain tissues (mostly harmful substances), so as to maintain a stable internal environment of brain tissues, while stopping most drugs from the intracranial and causeing difficulties to cerebral diseases. The establishment of experimental model of BBB is a key technique for drug treatment of craniocerebral diseases. Therefore, the establishment of the BBB model and the study of its permeability change will deepen the understanding of the neuro-vascular interaction and provide an important theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of central nervous system diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) can affect brain tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, inhibit myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) content, so as to affect the expression of zonula occluden-1 (ZO-1) or up-regulate the expression of Claudin-5, inhibit BBB permeability under pathological conditions, and play a protective role in BBB. TCM can also promote the changes in BBB permeability by affecting the expressions of cell adhesion factor-1 (CAM-1), ZO-1, filamentous actin(F-actin), P-glycoprotein(P-gp)and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), or increase drug permeability through co-delivery with other drugs. In this paper, the methods, advantages and disadvantages of the establishment of experimental models of the BBB in recent years, as well as the effects of TCM monomers, effective components and TCM compounds on the permeability of the BBB were summarized, so as to provide important guidance and direction for the future treatment of intracranial diseases by traditional Chinese and western medicine.