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Updated: May 14, 2026

Isolation of Cerebral Capillaries from Fresh Human Brain Tissue
Published on: September 12, 2018
Drug transporters at brain barriers: expression and regulation by neurological disorders
Tamima Ashraf1, Olena Kis, Nilasha Banerjee
1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
Drug transport in the central nervous system can be highly regulated by the expression of numerous influx and efflux transport proteins not only at the blood-brain barrier and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier but also in brain parenchymal cellular compartments (i.e., astrocytes, microglia, neurons). In particular, members of the ATP-Binding Cassette membrane-associated transporter superfamily and Solute Carrier family are known to be involved in the traffic of several endobiotics and xenobiotics (including drugs) into and out ofthe brain. These transport proteins have also been implicated in a number of neurological disorders including HIV-encephalitis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and neoplasia. This chapter summarizes recent knowledge on the role of drug transporters in the brain.
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