查看文章

Central nervous system has low vascular permeability by organizing tight junction (TJ) and limiting endothelial transcytosis. While TJ has long been considered to be responsible for vascular barrier in central nervous system, suppressed transcytosis in endothelial cells is now emerging as a complementary mechanism. Whether transcytosis regulation is independent of TJ and its dysregulation dominantly causes diseases associated with edema remain elusive. Dll4 signaling is important for various vascular contexts, but its role in the maintenance of vascular barrier in central nervous system remains unknown.

To find a TJ-independent regulatory mechanism selective for transcytosis and identify its dysregulation as a cause of pathological leakage.

We studied transcytosis in the adult mouse retina with low vascular permeability and employed a hypertension-induced …