Interleukin-1β transfer across the blood-brain barrier in the ovine fetus

40Citations
Citations of this article
30Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Pro-inflammatory cytokines contribute to hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction represents an important component of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in the fetus. Hypoxic-ischemic injury could accentuate systemic cytokine transfer across the fetal BBB. There has been considerable conjecture suggesting that systemic cytokines could cross the BBB during the perinatal period. Nonetheless, evidence to support this contention is sparse. We hypothesized that ischemia-reperfusion increases the transfer of systemic interleukin-1β (IL-1β) across the BBB in the fetus. Ovine fetuses at 127 days of gestation were studied 4 hours after 30 minutes of bilateral carotid artery occlusion and compared with a nonischemic group. Recombinant ovine IL-1β protein was expressed from an IL-1β pGEX-2 T vector in E. coli BL-21 cells and purified. The BBB function was quantified in 12 brain regions using a blood-to-brain transfer constant with intravenous 125 I-radiolabeled IL-1β (125 I-IL-1β). Interleukin-1β crossed the intact BBB in nonischemic fetuses. Blood-to-brain transport of 125 I-IL-1β was higher (P<0.05) across brain regions in fetuses exposed to ischemia-reperfusion than nonischemic fetuses. We conclude that systemic IL-1β crosses the intact fetal BBB, and that ischemia-reperfusion increases transfer of this cytokine across the fetal BBB. Therefore, altered BBB function after hypoxia-ischemia facilitates entry of systemic cytokines into the brain of the fetus.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Sadowska, G. B., Chen, X., Zhang, J., Lim, Y. P., Cummings, E. E., Makeyev, O., … Stonestreet, B. S. (2015). Interleukin-1β transfer across the blood-brain barrier in the ovine fetus. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 35(9), 1388–1395. https://doi.org/10.1038/jcbfm.2015.134

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free