Peripheral neuropathy and blood-nerve barrier

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Rinsho Shinkeigaku. 2009 Nov;49(11):959-62.

Peripheral neuropathy and blood-nerve barrier

Kanda T.

Department of Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate

School of Medicine.

It is important to know the cellular properties of endoneurial microvascular

endothelial cells (PnMECs) and microvascular pericytes which constitute

blood-nerve barrier (BNB), since this barrier structure in the peripheral

nervous system (PNS) may play pivotal pathophysiological roles in various

disorders of the PNS including inflammatory neuropathies (i.e. Guillain-Barré

syndrome), vasculitic neuropathies, hereditary neuropathies and diabetic

neuropathy.

However, in contrast to blood-brain barrier (BBB), very few studies have been

directed to BNB and no adequate cell lines originating from BNB had been

launched. In our laboratory, we successfully established human immortalized cell

lines originating from BNB using temperature-sensitive SV40 large T antigen and

the cellular properties of human cell lines are presented in this paper. Human

PnMEC cell line showed high transendothelial electrical resistance and expressed

tight junction components and various types of influx as well as efflux

transporters that have been reported to function at BBB.

Human pericyte cell line also possessed tight junction proteins except claudin-5

and secrete various cytokines and growth factors including bFGF, VEGF, GDNF,

NGF, BDNF and angiopoietin-1. Co-culture with pericytes or pericyte-conditioned

media strengthend barrier properties of PnMEC, suggesting that in the PNS,

peripheral nerve pericytes support the BNB function and play the same role of

astrocytes in the BBB. Future accumulation of the knowledge concerning the

cellular properties of BNB-forming cells will open the door to novel therapeutic

strategies for intractable peripheral neuropathies.