Aging cell
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The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is composed of brain capillary endothelial cells and has an important role in maintaining homeostasis of the brain separating the blood from the parenchyma of the central nervous system (CNS). It is widely known that disruption of the BBB occurs in various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Annexin A1 (ANXA1), an anti-inflammatory messenger, is expressed in brain endothelial cells and regulates the BBB integrity. ⋯ RhoA inhibitors alleviated Aβ42-induced BBB disruption and constitutively overexpressed RhoA-GTP (active form of RhoA) attenuated the protective effect of ANXA1. When pericytes were cocultured with bEnd.3 cells, Aβ42-induced RhoA activation of bEnd.3 cells was inhibited by the secretion of ANXA1 from pericytes. Taken together, our results suggest that ANXA1 restores Aβ42-induced BBB disruption through inhibition of RhoA-ROCK signaling pathway and we propose ANXA1 as a therapeutic reagent, protecting against the breakdown of the BBB in AD.