Nirva Institute · Astrocytes · Foundations
Astrocytes and the Blood-Brain Barrier
How astrocyte endfeet help protect the brain from the bloodstream.
The blood-brain barrier is a highly selective interface between the circulation and the neural tissue. Astrocytes are a major structural and signaling participant in its formation and maintenance.
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Endfeet at the vessel wall
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Signaling to endothelial cells
Astrocytes influence endothelial tight-junction expression and permeability through continuous biochemical signaling.191
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Consequences of dysfunction
Scientific References
Primary literature
AMA numeric style. Citation numbers are unified across the Nirva Life ecosystem — the same number refers to the same reference across every library article. Full registry is anchored in the Cornerstone Paper.
- 182.Verkhratsky A, Nedergaard M. Physiology of astroglia. Physiol Rev. 2018;98(1):239-389. PubMed ↗
- 183.Nedergaard M, Verkhratsky A. Astrocytes in brain health and disease. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2024. PubMed ↗
- 191.Abbott NJ, Rönnbäck L, Hansson E. Astrocyte-endothelial interactions at the blood-brain barrier. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006;7(1):41-53. PubMed ↗
- 202.Liu Z, Chopp M. Astrocytes, therapeutic targets for neuroprotection and neurorestoration in ischemic stroke. Prog Neurobiol. 2016;144:103-120. PubMed ↗
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