Measurements have been made of the permeability of the isolated urinary bladder of the toad to a number of small solute molecules, in the presence and absence of vasopressin. Vasopressin has a strikingly specific effect on increasing permeability of the bladder to a group of small, uncharged amides and alcohols while penetration by other small molecules and ions is unaffected. The movement of u...

Skin barrier function is conferred by the outer layer of epidermis, the stratum corneum, and is essential for terrestrial life. Quantitative trans-epidermal water loss assays show that barrier forms late in embryogenesis, permitting the foetus to survive a terrestrial environment at birth. Using qualitative in situ assays for skin permeability, we show that barrier forms in a patterned manner l...

improving barrier properties through the use of nanocomposites is an important area of research, especially for the food packaging industry. in this work, titanium dioxide (tio2 )/low density poly ethylene (ldpe) nanocomposites were synthesized as the oxygen barrier layers through the co-extrusion process. the oxygen permeability of the nanocomposite with 4% of tio2 decreased for about 16% comp...

Circulating factors in preeclamptic women are thought to cause endothelial dysfunction and thereby contribute to the progression of this hypertensive condition. Despite the involvement of neurological complications in preeclampsia, there is a paucity of data regarding the effect of circulating factors on cerebrovascular function. Using a rat model of pregnancy, we investigated blood-brain barri...

Circulating factors in preeclamptic women are thought to cause endothelial dysfunction and thereby contribute to the progression of this hypertensive condition. Despite the involvement of neurological complications in preeclampsia, there is a paucity of data regarding the effect of circulating factors on cerebrovascular function. Using a rat model of pregnancy, we investigated blood-brain barri...

The airway epithelial barrier provides defenses against inhaled antigens and pathogens, and alterations of epithelial barrier function have been proposed to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of chronic airway diseases. Although the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays roles in various physiological and pathological processes on the airway epithelium, the role of EGFR on barri...

Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by inflammatory disruption of the alveolar-vascular barrier, resulting in severe respiratory compromise. Inhibition of the intercellular messenger protein, Group V phospholipase A(2) (gVPLA(2)), blocks vascular permeability caused by LPS both in vivo and in vitro. In this investigation we studied the mechanism by which recombinant gVPLA(2) increases perm...

In the present study, the permeability of 11 different iron oxide nanoparticle (IONP) samples (eight fluids and three powders) was determined using an in vitro blood-brain barrier model. Importantly, the results showed that the ferrofluid formulations were statistically more permeable than the IONP powder formulations at the blood-brain barrier, suggesting a role for the presently studied in si...

The microenvironment of the cochlea is maintained by the barrier between the systemic circulation and the fluids inside the stria vascularis. However, the mechanisms that control the permeability of the intrastrial fluid-blood barrier remain largely unknown. The barrier comprises endothelial cells connected to each other by tight junctions and an underlying basement membrane. In a recent study,...

Gliomas, particularly glioblastoma multiforme, perturb the bloodbrain barrier and cause brain edema that contributes to morbidity and mortality. The mechanisms underlying this vasogenic edema are poorly understood. We examined the effects of cocultured primary cultured human glioblastoma cells and glioma-derived growth factors on the endothelial cell tight junction proteins claudin 1, claudin 5...