Blood-Brain Barrier Abnormalities Caused by HIV-1 gp120: Mechanistic and Therapeutic Implications
Figure 1
Injection of gp120 into the rat caudate-putamen (CP) induced extravasation of Evans Blue (EB). (a) EB was injected intravenously before injection of gp120. Gp120 (500 ng in 1 μl saline) was injected stereotaxically into the rat CP using coordinates obtained from the rat brain atlas of Paxinos and Watson (1986). Controls received saline or rat IgG. One day later, extravasation of EB was seen in the CP. (b) Fluorescence corresponding to EB extravasation was observed by microscopy in the injected CP. (c) Spectrophotometric measurements representing the specific absorbance of EB at 620 nm showed that EB levels were higher in the CP injected with gp120 compared to CPs injected with saline or rat IgG. Furthermore, injection of gp120 into the carotid artery (CA, 2000 ng gp120) or the lateral ventricle (LV, 2000 ng gp120) did not increase EB levels in the CP. (d) EB levels in the CP were almost similar 1 hour and 1 day after gp120 injection. (e) Relationship between the concentrations of gp120 and the levels of EB. Bar: (b) 100 μm.
