Roles of integrins and extracellular matrix in stroke.

Roles of integrins and extracellular matrix in stroke. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2018 Nov 21;: Authors: Edwards D, Bix GJ Abstract Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States, but recent advances in treatments (i.e. endovascular thrombectomy and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA)) that target the stroke-causing blood clot, while improving overall stroke mortality rates, have had much less of an impact on overall stroke morbidity. This may in part be attributed to the lack of therapeutics targeting reperfusion induced injury after the blood clot has been removed, which, if left unchecked, can expand injury from its core into the surrounding at risk tissue (penumbra). This occurs in two phases of increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier, a physical barrier that under physiologic conditions regulates brain influx and efflux of substances and consists of tight junction forming endothelial cells (and transporter proteins), astrocytes, pericytes, extracellular matrix and their integrin cellular receptors. During, embryonic development, maturity, and following stroke reperfusion, cerebral vasculature undergoes significant changes including changes in expression of integrins and degradation of surrounding extracellular matrix. Integrins, heterodimers with α and β subunits, and their extracellular matrix ligands, a collection of proteoglycans, glycoproteins, and collagens, have been modestly st...
Source: Am J Physiol Cell Ph... - Category: Cytology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Cell Physiol Source Type: research