[Effect of hyperthermia on tight junctions between endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier model in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of hyperthermia in vitro on tight junctions between the endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier. METHODS: An in vitro blood-brain barrier model was established by coculture of ECV304 cells with astrocytes. Transendothelial resistance (TER) of in vitro blood-brain barrier was determined by Millicell-ERS system, and the morphological change of tight junctions examined by silver staining. The expression level of zonula occluden-1(ZO-1) was analyzed by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR. RESULTS: The integrity of tight junctions was disrupted and the expression level of ZO-1 decreased after treatment with hyperthermia. CONCLUSIONS: Tight junctions between the endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier can be destroyed by hyperthermia, and decreased expression level of ZO-1 induced by hyperthermia is one of the most important molecular mechanisms.