The effect of inflammatory molecules on blood-brain barrier function
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effect of inflammatory molecules on blood-brain barrier function
IRAS ID
250952
Contact name
I Galea
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
10 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Nerve cells in the brain are delicate and require a specialized environment, different from that in blood, hence there is a tight barrier separating blood from brain called the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is leaky in neurological diseases affecting the brain; it becomes even leakier during inflammation or bleeding in the brain. Reversing this blood-brain barrier leakiness may be a way of preventing progression in neurological disease. Finding which molecules impact on blood-brain barrier leakiness is therefore important.
The aim of this project is to find which molecules are important in: (1) inducing blood-brain barrier leakiness, and (2) maintaining blood-brain barrier tightness. This will be done by analysing molecules on both sides of the blood-brain barrier: in the fluid which bathes the brain (called cerebrospinal fluid) and blood. We can also find out the effect of these molecules on brain health by measuring brain proteins or relating to clinical data.
The study will be done using fully anonymised samples and data from two studies abroad (Copenhagen, Texas) since these samples offer a unique opportunity to answer our question for reasons discussed later. These samples have been collected under ethically-approved studies and we will be analysing them in the laboratory.
REC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0492
Date of REC Opinion
4 Sep 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion