Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 25, 2026

Isolation and Expansion of Adult Canine Hippocampal Neural Precursors
Published on: November 29, 2016
Aged blood impairs hippocampal neural precursor activity and activates microglia via brain endothelial cell VCAM1
Hanadie Yousef1,2, Cathrin J Czupalla2,3,4, Davis Lee1,2
1Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
Abstract:
An aged circulatory environment can activate microglia, reduce neural precursor cell activity and impair cognition in mice. We hypothesized that brain endothelial cells (BECs) mediate at least some of these effects. We observe that BECs in the aged mouse hippocampus express an inflammatory transcriptional profile with focal upregulation of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1), a protein that facilitates vascular-immune cell interactions. Concomitantly, levels of the shed, soluble form of VCAM1 are prominently increased in the plasma of aged humans and mice, and their plasma is sufficient to increase VCAM1 expression in cultured BECs and the hippocampi of young mice. Systemic administration of anti-VCAM1 antibody or genetic ablation of Vcam1 in BECs counteracts the detrimental effects of plasma from aged individuals on young brains and reverses aging aspects, including microglial reactivity and cognitive deficits, in the brains of aged mice. Together, these findings establish brain endothelial VCAM1 at the blood-brain barrier as a possible target to treat age-related neurodegeneration.
Related Concept Videos
B Cell Activation and Differentiation
When naive B cells encounter a specific antigen that can bind to the B cell receptor (BCR) on their surface, they undergo sensitization to respond to the antigen's presence. Sensitization begins with...
Activation Energy
tRNA Activation
Co-activators and Co-repressors
Secondary Active Transport
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...

