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Published 12 May 2003. doi:10.1083/jcb.200304039
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© The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525/2003/5/459 $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 161, Number 3, 459-460

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Holey barrier

: claudins and the regulation of brain endothelial permeability



Karl Matter and Maria S. Balda

Division of Cell Biology, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK

Address correspondence to Karl Matter, Division of Cell Biology, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, Bath St., London EC1V 9EL, UK. Tel.: 44-20-7608-4014. Fax: 44-20-7608-4034. E-mail: k.matter{at}ucl.ac.uk; or Maria S. Balda, Division of Cell Biology, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, Bath St., London EC1V 9EL, UK. Tel.: 44-20-7608-6861. Fax: 44-20-7608-4034. E-mail: m.balda{at}ucl.ac.uk

Endothelial tight junctions (TJs)* are an important functional part of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In this issue, Nitta et al. (2003) demonstrate that claudin-5, a transmembrane protein of TJs, is a critical determinant of BBB permeability in mice. Unexpectedly, knockout of claudin-5 did not result in a general breakdown of TJs but in a selective increase in paracellular permeability of small molecules. This suggests that the BBB can be manipulated to allow selective diffusion of small molecules and makes claudin-5 a possible target for the development of drugs for this purpose.

Key Words: blood-brain barrier; tight junction; paracellular permeability; occludin

* Abbreviations used in this paper: BBB, blood-brain barrier; BEC, brain endothelial cell; TJ, tight junction.


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