Protective effects of vascular endothelial growth factor in cultured brain endothelial cells against hypoglycemia
Abstract
Hypoglycemia is a common and serious problem among patients with type 1 diabetes receiving treatment with insulin. Clinical studies have demonstrated that hypoglycemic edema is involved in the initiation of hypoglycemic brain damage. However, the mechanisms of this edema are poorly understood. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a potent regulator of blood vessel function, has been observed an important candidate hormone induced by hypoglycemia to protect neurons by restoring plasma glucose. Whether VEGF has a protective effect against hypoglycemia-induced damage in brain endothelial cells is still unknown. To investigate the effects of hypoglycemia on cerebral microvascular endothelial cells and assess the protective effect of exogenous VEGF on endothelial cells during hypoglycemia, confluent monolayers of the brain endothelial cell line bEnd.3 were treated with normal (5.5 mM glucose), hypoglycemic (0, 0.5, 1 mM glucose) medium or hypoglycemic medium in the presence of VEGF. The results clearly showed that hypoglycemia significantly downregulated the expression of claudin-5 in bEnd.3 cells, without affecting ZO-1 and occludin expression and distribution. Besides, transendothelial permeability significantly increased un...Continue Reading
References
Antioxidant and protective mechanisms against hypoxia and hypoglycaemia in cortical neurons in vitro
Citations
Glucose Transporters at the Blood-Brain Barrier: Function, Regulation and Gateways for Drug Delivery
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