Background/objectives: Iron (Fe) is a co-factor for enzymes of the developing brain necessitating sufficient supply. We investigated the effects of administering ferric derisomaltose/Fe isomaltoside (FDI) subcutaneously to Fe-deficient (ID) pregnant rats on cerebral and hepatic concentrations of essential metals and the expression of iron-relevant genes.
Methods: Pregnant rats subjected to ID were injected with FDI on the day of mating (E0), 14 days into pregnancy (E14), or the day of birth (postnatal (P0)).
Treating central nervous system (CNS) diseases is complicated by the incapability of numerous therapeutics to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), mainly composed of brain endothelial cells (BECs). Genetically modifying BECs into protein factories that supply the CNS with recombinant proteins is a promising approach to overcome this hindrance, especially in genetic diseases, like Niemann Pick disease type C2 (NPC2), where both CNS and peripheral cells are affected. Here, we investigated the potential of the BEC-specific adeno-associated viral vector (AAV-BR1) encoding NPC2 for expression and secretion from primary BECs cultured in an in vitro BBB model with mixed glial cells, and in healthy BALB/c mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) pathology may be associated with mental disorders. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to identify, evaluate and summarize available evidence on whether potential biomarkers of BBB pathology are altered in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, major depression and bipolar disorder compared to healthy controls.
Methods: The primary outcome is blood S100B, while secondary outcomes include biomarkers in blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid, i.