Serine proteases and brain damage – is there a link?

The protective blood–brain barrier normally allows diffusion of small molecules such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, and transport of essential nutrients, but excludes large proteins and other blood constituents from the interstitial space of the CNS. However, head trauma, stroke, status epilepticus a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in neurosciences (Regular ed.) 2000-09, Vol.23 (9), p.399-407
Main Authors: Gingrich, Melissa B., Traynelis, Stephen F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Blood
Blood-Brain Barrier - physiology
Blood–brain barrier
Brain damage
Brain Diseases - enzymology
Brain Diseases - physiopathology
Humans
Medical sciences
Nervous system
Nervous system involvement in other diseases. Miscellaneous
Neurological disorders
Neurology
Neurotoxicity
Plasmin
Serine Endopeptidases - metabolism
Serine protease
Thrombin
Tissue plasminogen activator
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Summary:The protective blood–brain barrier normally allows diffusion of small molecules such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, and transport of essential nutrients, but excludes large proteins and other blood constituents from the interstitial space of the CNS. However, head trauma, stroke, status epilepticus and other pathological conditions can all compromise the integrity of this barrier, and allow blood proteins as large as albumin to gain access to the extracellular spaces that surround neurons and glia. Given their possible entry into brain tissue during cerebrovascular insult, the effects of blood-derived proteases such as thrombin, tissue plasminogen activator and plasmin in the CNS have come under increasing scrutiny. Evidence now supports a role for serine proteases in the sequence of events that can lead to glial scarring, edema, seizure and neuronal death.
ISSN:0166-2236
1878-108X
DOI:10.1016/S0166-2236(00)01617-9