Virna Margarita Martín Giménez¹, SebastiáN GarcíA MenéNdez^2,3, Luiz Gustavo A. Chuffa⁴, Vinicius Augusto SimãO⁴, Russel J. Reiter⁵, Ramaswamy Sharma⁶, Walter Balduini⁷, Carla Gentile⁸, Walter Manucha^2,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.12, pp. 2245-2282, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2025.071830 - 24 December 2025

Abstract Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Huntington’s disease (HD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are characterized by progressive neuronal loss, which is closely linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. These pathologies involve a complex interplay of genetics, protein misfolding, and cellular stress, culminating in impaired energy metabolism, an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), and defective mitochondrial quality control. The accumulation of damaged mitochondria and dysregulation of pathways such as the Integrated Stress Response (ISR) are central to the pathogenesis of these conditions. This review explores the critical relationship between mitochondrial stress… More >

Myoung Cheol Shin¹, Tae-Kyeong Lee², Dae Won Kim³, Joon Ha Park⁴, Moo-Ho Won¹, Choong-Hyun Lee^5,*, Ji Hyeon Ahn^6,*

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.6, pp. 1071-1083, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2025.065506 - 24 June 2025

Abstract Background: Astrocyte endfeet (AEF) serves as a key element of the blood-brain barrier and is important for the survival and maintenance of neuronal function. However, the immunohistochemical and ultrastructural changes of AEF in the CA1 and CA3 areas of the hippocampus over time following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury have not been well elucidated. Objectives: We investigated chronological changes in AEF in the gerbil hippocampal CA1 area from 3 h to 10 days following transient forebrain ischemia (TFI), and examined their association with neuronal death and tissue repair following IR injury. Changes in the CA3 area… More >

SOROUSH SOLEYMANI¹, MOHAMMAD DOROUDIAN^2,*, MAHDIEH SOEZI^3,4, ALI BELADI⁵, KIARASH ASGARI², ASO MOBARAKSHAHI², ARYANA AGHAEIPOUR², RONAN MACLOUGHLIN^6,7,8,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 15-26, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.053069 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Brain metastasis and primary glioblastoma multiforme represent the most common and lethal malignant brain tumors. Its median survival time is typically less than a year after diagnosis. One of the major challenges in treating these cancers is the efficiency of the transport of drugs to the central nervous system. The blood-brain barrier is cooperating with advanced stages of malignancy. The blood-brain barrier poses a significant challenge to delivering systemic medications to brain tumors. Nanodrug delivery systems have emerged as promising tools for effectively crossing this barrier. Additionally, the development of smart nanoparticles brings new hope More >

Małgorzata Gryka-Marton, Anna Grabowska, Dariusz Szukiewicz

European Cytokine Network, Vol.35, No.3, pp. 38-47, 2024, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2024.0498

Abstract The blood-brain barrier (BBB) consists of a unique system of brain microvascular endothelial cells, capillary basement membranes, and terminal branches (“end-feet”) of astrocytes. The BBB’s primary function is to protect the central nervous system from potentially harmful or toxic substances in the bloodstream by selectively controlling the entry of cells and molecules, including nutrients and immune system components. During neuroinflammation, the BBB loses its integrity, resulting in increased permeability, mostly due to the activity of inflammatory cytokines. However, the pathomechanism of structural and functional changes in the BBB caused by individual cytokines is poorly understood.… More >

KARAN WADHWA¹, PAYAL CHAUHAN¹, SHOBHIT KUMAR², RAKESH PAHWA^3,*, RAVINDER VERMA⁴, RAJAT GOYAL⁵, GOVIND SINGH¹, ARCHANA SHARMA⁶, NEHA RAO³, DEEPAK KAUSHIK^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.5, pp. 877-897, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.047278 - 23 April 2024

Abstract Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is recognized as the most lethal and most highly invasive tumor. The high likelihood of treatment failure arises from the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and stem cells around GBM, which avert the entry of chemotherapeutic drugs into the tumor mass. Objective: Recently, several researchers have designed novel nanocarrier systems like liposomes, dendrimers, metallic nanoparticles, nanodiamonds, and nanorobot approaches, allowing drugs to infiltrate the BBB more efficiently, opening up innovative avenues to prevail over therapy problems and radiation therapy. Methods: Relevant literature for this manuscript has been collected from a comprehensive More > Graphic Abstract

LONGSHENG FU¹, JINFANG HU¹, FENG SHAO², YAOQI WU¹, WEI BAI³, MINGJIN JIANG³, HAO CHEN⁴, LIHUA CHEN², YANNI LV^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1869-1883, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028602 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Background: Biochanin A is an excellent dietary isoflavone that has the concomitant function of both medicine and foodstuff. The attenuation function of biochanin A on blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage induced by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion remains unclear. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were subjected to 1 h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by 24 h reperfusion. The infarct volume of the brain was stained by TTC, while leakage of the brain was quantitatively stained by Evans blue, and the neurologic deficit score was measured. Microglial-induced morphologic changes were observed via immunofluorescence staining, and rolling and adhering leukocytes in… More >

KAI WANG^2,#, FENGTIAN ZHANG^1,3,4,#, CHANGLONG WEN⁵, ZHIHUA HUANG⁶, ZHIHAO HU¹, YUWEN ZHANG¹, FUQIANG HU^2,*, LIJUAN WEN^1,6,*

Oncology Research, Vol.29, No.5, pp. 351-363, 2021, DOI:10.32604/or.2022.025696 - 10 October 2022

Abstract The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is an essential component in regulating and maintaining the homeostatic microenvironment of the central nervous system (CNS). During the occurrence and development of glioblastoma (GBM), BBB is pathologically destroyed with a marked increase in permeability. Due to the obstruction of the BBB, current strategies for GBM therapeutics still obtain a meager success rate and may lead to systemic toxicity. Moreover, chemotherapy could promote pathological BBB functional restoration, which results in significantly reduced intracerebral transport of therapeutic agents during multiple administrations of GBM and the eventual failure of GBM chemotherapy. The effective More >