Increase in Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) Permeability Is Regulated by MMP3 via the ERK Signaling Pathway

Figure 1

Experimental design. Experiments were conducted both in vivo and in vitro, as indicated. In vivo experiments were conducted in wild-type mice (WT), MMP3-KO mice (KO) mice, and WT mice administered MMP3 (WT + MMP3) and included assessments of susceptibility to isoflurane anesthesia and BBB permeability to intravenously administered dyes (Evans blue, sodium-FITC). In vitro assessments included measurements of barrier integrity via TEER using ECIS system in monolayers of BMVECs and in cocultures of BMVECs and astrocytes via Transwell assay. The abundance of junctional proteins was also evaluated via Western blot.