Corrigendum: Plasticity of carbohydrate transport at the blood-brain barrier.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.

Starvation-induced regulation of carbohydrate transport at the blood-brain barrier is TGF-β-signaling dependent.

During hunger or malnutrition, animals prioritize alimentation of the brain over other organs to ensure its function and, thus, their survival. This protection, also-called brain sparing, is described from to humans. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms adapting carbohydrate transport.

Plasticity of Carbohydrate Transport at the Blood-Brain Barrier.

Neuronal function is highly energy demanding, requiring efficient transport of nutrients into the central nervous system (CNS). Simultaneously the brain must be protected from the influx of unwanted solutes. Most of the energy is supplied from dietary sugars, delivered from circulation via the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Metabolite transport across the mammalian and insect brain diffusion barriers.

The nervous system in higher vertebrates is separated from the circulation by a layer of specialized endothelial cells. It protects the sensitive neurons from harmful blood-derived substances, high and fluctuating ion concentrations, xenobiotics or even pathogens. To this end, the brain endothelial cells and their interlinking tight junctions build an efficient diffusion barrier.

Glial Glycolysis Is Essential for Neuronal Survival in Drosophila.

Neuronal information processing requires a large amount of energy, indicating that sugars and other metabolites must be efficiently delivered. However, reliable neuronal function also depends on the maintenance of a constant microenvironment in the brain. Therefore, neurons are efficiently separated from circulation by the blood-brain barrier, and their long axons are insulated by glial processes.

The Drosophila blood-brain barrier: development and function of a glial endothelium.

The efficacy of neuronal function requires a well-balanced extracellular ion homeostasis and a steady supply with nutrients and metabolites. Therefore, all organisms equipped with a complex nervous system developed a so-called blood-brain barrier, protecting it from an uncontrolled entry of solutes, metabolites or pathogens. In higher vertebrates, this diffusion barrier is established by polarized endothelial cells that form extensive tight junctions, whereas in lower vertebrates and invertebrates the blood-brain barrier is exclusively formed by glial cells.