TY - JOUR
T1 - PCBs and tight junction expression
AU - Eum, Sung Yong
AU - András, Ibolya E.
AU - Couraud, Pierre Olivier
AU - Hennig, Bernhard
AU - Toborek, Michal
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by NIH (P42 ES 07380, MH63022, MH072567, and NS39254).
PY - 2008/3
Y1 - 2008/3
N2 - Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners exhibit a broad range of adverse biological effects including neurotoxicity. The mechanisms by which PCBs cause neurotoxic effects are still not completely understood. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a physical and metabolic barrier separating brain microenvironment from the peripheral circulation and is mainly composed of endothelial cells connected by tight junctions. We examined the effects of several highly chlorinated PCB congeners on expression of tight junction proteins in human brain endothelial cells. Treatment for 24 h with selective PCB congeners disrupted expression of the cytosolic scaffold proteins of tight junctions, such as zonula occludens (ZO)-1, ZO-2, and AF6. In contrast, PCB exposure did not alter expression of integral membrane proteins, junctional adhesion molecule-A (JAM-A), and claudin-1. Based on these data, we suggest that PCB-mediated selective alterations of tight junction protein expression may contribute to their neurotoxic effects in the central nervous system.
AB - Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners exhibit a broad range of adverse biological effects including neurotoxicity. The mechanisms by which PCBs cause neurotoxic effects are still not completely understood. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a physical and metabolic barrier separating brain microenvironment from the peripheral circulation and is mainly composed of endothelial cells connected by tight junctions. We examined the effects of several highly chlorinated PCB congeners on expression of tight junction proteins in human brain endothelial cells. Treatment for 24 h with selective PCB congeners disrupted expression of the cytosolic scaffold proteins of tight junctions, such as zonula occludens (ZO)-1, ZO-2, and AF6. In contrast, PCB exposure did not alter expression of integral membrane proteins, junctional adhesion molecule-A (JAM-A), and claudin-1. Based on these data, we suggest that PCB-mediated selective alterations of tight junction protein expression may contribute to their neurotoxic effects in the central nervous system.
KW - Blood-brain barrier
KW - Polychlorinated biphenyls
KW - Tight junctions
KW - Zonula occludens
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U2 - 10.1016/j.etap.2007.10.019
DO - 10.1016/j.etap.2007.10.019
M3 - Article
C2 - 18438464
AN - SCOPUS:38549131276
VL - 25
SP - 234
EP - 240
JO - Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology
JF - Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology
SN - 1382-6689
IS - 2
ER -