Membrane Recycling, Adsorptive and Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis by Primary Bovine Cerebral Microvessel Endothelial Cell Monolayers in Vitro

Within recent years, we have realized that the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is an interactive, highly selective interface between the brain interstitial space and blood-borne molecules. It is the unique functional and morphological characteristics of the endothelial cells which comprise the majority of the BBB surface area that define this specialized structure. However, increasing evidence shows that communication between the endothelia and surrounding cell types is responsible for expression of the BBB phenotype1.