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Nature Medicine 9, 828 - 829 (2003)
doi:10.1038/nm0703-828

Building up the blood-brain barrier

Peter Rieckmann1 & Britta Engelhardt2

  1. P.R. is in the Department of Neurology, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg 97080, Germany, e-mail: p.rieckmann@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
  2. B.E. is at the Max-Planck Institute for Vascular Biology, Münster 48149, Germany. e-mail: bengel@mpi-muenster.mpg.de


Astrocyte projections extend to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and promote its maturation. These astrocytes are now shown to secrete a factor that appears to integrate signaling networks necessary for BBB development and maintenance (pages 900–906).


Many diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), such as stroke, brain tumors, traumatic injury or multiple sclerosis, are typically accompanied by dysfunction of the BBB. Identifying the factors that contribute to BBB formation during development and maintenance in adulthood could provide insight into such damage.

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