An <em>In Vitro</em> Model for Studying Pathogen Crossing of the Blood-Brain Barrier and Brain Cell Infection

Source: da Costa, A., et al. A Human Blood-Brain Interface Model to Study Barrier Crossings by Pathogens or Medicines and Their Interactions with the Brain. J. Vis. Exp. (2019). This video demonstrates an in vitro model to study pathogens crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Microvascular endothelial cells, which express tight junctions, form an endothelial layer in the upper chamber, while neurons, astrocytes, and microglia represent the brain parenchyma in the lower chamber, separated by a porous membrane. Virus infection in the BBB model mimics the pathogen crossing from blood to the brain. Upon introducing a neurotropic virus, it crosses the BBB via transcytosis, infects neural cells, replicates, and releases viral progeny, demonstrating successful neuroinvasion.