Summary
The distribution of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in hypothalamic and cortical brain tissues was studied at different time intervals after injection into the lateral ventricle of adult Wistar rats. A preferential penetration of the tracer was found along the perivascular spaces of blood vessels. Their importance for the exchange between CSF and extracellular space of the brain is discussed. It is suggested that the preferential penetration route extends beyond the range of the Virchow-Robin space down to the level of the capillaries.
Although the intercellular clefts between endothelial cells are sealed by tight junctions there is a retrograde vesicular transport of the tracer to the blood stream which contributes to the removal of HRP from the brain tissue. This indicates that in this case one has to distinguish between a blood-brain barrier and a brain-blood barrier.
One of the main factors in the removal and degradation of the foreign protein is shown to be the perivascular microglia the identity of which is readily established by comparing its appearance in the light and electron microscope.
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Wagner, H.J., Pilgrim, C. & Brandl, J. Penetration and removal of horseradish peroxidase injected into the cerebrospinal fluid: Role of cerebral perivascular spaces, endothelium and microglia. Acta Neuropathol 27, 299–315 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00690695
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00690695