Application of a Three-Cell Blood-Brain Barrier Model to Assess Neurovascular Unit Cell Damage in Alzheimer's Disease

To assess functional characteristics of cells of the neurovascular unit in Alzheimer's disease (AD), we performed differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells from an AD patient (Alz9L cell line) into neuronal, glial, and endothelial cells with the formation of a three-cell model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Increased BBB permeability combined with changes in synaptic plasticity of neurons and changes in the metabolism of endothelial cells was detected in AD. The obtained results confirm the presence of vascular dysfunction during AD development and indicate the possibility of using personalized BBB models to assess the features of barrier formation.