File:Blood nerve barrier.jpg

Summary

Figure 1. Blood-nerve barrier. (A) Transverse view of a peripheral nerve ensheathed by epineurial collagen fibrils (epineurium) and blood vessels. Individual nerve fascicles consisting of unmyelinated and myelinated axons as well as small blood vessels are ensheathed by the perineurium, forming the endoneurial microenvironment. (B) Individual endoneurial blood vessel surrounded by endothelial cells, pericytes and the basement membrane. (C) Cellular structure of the blood-nerve barrier, formed by endothelial cells, that are connected by tight junctions, pericytes and the basement membrane. The barrier is exposed to cells and molecules circulating in the blood, protecting constituents of the endoneurium (Remak bundles, myelinated axons, resident macrophages and fibroblasts) from toxic factors. (D) Endothelial cells are tightly interconnected by tight junctions and adherens junctions forming a restrictive intercellular barrier. Zona occludens-1 and -2 (ZO-1, ZO-2) interact with claudin-5, occludin and likely with claudin-12/19 forming tight junctions. β-catenin forms in conjunction with VE-cadherin adherens junctions.^[1]

Licencing

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.