Bioelectrical and permeability properties of brain microvasculature endothelial cells: Effects of tight junction modulators

In the current investigation, primary porcine brain capillary endothelial (PBCE) cells were isolated and used as an in vitro blood-brain barrier model. The bioelectrical and permeability properties were assessed in PBCE cells treated with Astrocytes Conditioned Medium (ACM), hydrocortisone and cAMP elevators. The primary PBCE cells cultured with ACM plus cAMP elevators provided significantly higher trans-endothelial electrical resistance (∼700 Ω cm2) in comparison with those cells cultured with ACM (∼400 Ω cm2) or untreated control (∼200 Ω cm2), while PBCE cells cultured with ACM plus hydrocortisone (550 nM) resulted in ∼550 Ω cm2. The bioelectrical properties were further validated by means of the permeability coefficients of transcellular and paracellular markers with results of ∼20 and ∼5 (×10-6 cm sec-1) for propranolol and sucrose, respectively in PBCE cells treated with ACM. and cAMP elevators. Upon the obtained bioelectrical and permeability results, PBCE cells cultured with astrocytes conditioned medium and cAMP elevators can be proposed as a high-throughput in vitro model for drug screening and brain targeting.