The role of the glutathione system in regulating the levels of ROS neutralisation in the endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier

Abstract

Brain endothelial cell types are frequently used as in vitro models to study the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Oxidative stress (OS) has been reported numerous times to cause BBB dysfunction which is crucial to the initiation and or propagation of several neurologic disorders. Glutathione (GSH) plays a significant role in the defence against OS in the brain endothelial cells. Therefore, the brain endothelial cell line bEnd.5 was profiled as an endothelium model of the BBB because of its natural GSH content, and its reactive oxygen species (ROS)-neutralising capacity in the presence and/or absence of a modest concentration (25 ?M) of a standard antioxidant, Trolox. Fluorescent microscopy with monochlorobimane (mBCl) as a fluorescent probe was used for cellular GSH targeting.