Ascorbic acid in its reduced form is not transported across the capillary endothelial cell blood-brain barrier. This is thought to be due to absence of the SVCT2, a specific transporter for ascorbate. To assess this directly we prepared primary cultures of mouse cortical microvascular endothelial cells. When still in the capillaries, these cells did not express the SVCT2 protein as assessed by immunocytochemistry and by immunoblotting. However, during several days in culture, they developed SVCT2 expression and showed ascorbate transport rates comparable to those in immortalized endothelial cell lines. SVCT2 expression was inversely proportional to cell density, was enhanced by culture at low physiologic plasma ascorbate concentrations, was inhibited by ascorbate concentrations expected in the brain interstitium, and was stimulated by cobalt ions. Expression of the SVCT2 was associated with ascorbate-dependent maturation and release of type IV collagen by the cells in culture. Although the SVCT2 is induced by culture of cortical capillary endothelial cells, its absence in vivo remains perplexing, given the need for intracellular ascorbate to facilitate type IV collagen maturation and release by endothelial cells.
SectionStructural Organization of the Brain Keywords SVCT2; ascorbate transport; cobalt, collagen; cortical capillary endothelial cells Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is an important antioxidant and enzyme co-factor in the central nervous system, where it has several functions, including antioxidant protection (Rice2000), peptide amidation (Eipper et al., 1983), myelin formation (Eldridge et al., 1987), enhancement of synaptic activity (Qiu et al., 2007), and protection against glutamate toxicity (Rebec et al., 1994). In contrast to other organs, however, very little ascorbate appears to enter the brain directly across capillary endothelial cells forming the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Rather, the vitamin is transported from the blood into the cerebrospinal fluid through the choroid plexus (Agus et al., 1997;Spector1977) and by specialized cells lining the third ventricle . Plasma concentrations of ascorbate are 30-60 µM, and these are increased to 200-400 µM in the cerebrospinal fluid through this mechanism (Reiber et al., 1993;Spector et al., 1973). Transport of ascorbate into neurons further increases the gradient, since neurons contain *Corresponding author: Dr. James May, 7465 Medical Research Building IV, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-0475. Tel. (615) 936-1653; Fax: (615) 936-1667. E-mail: james.may@vanderbilt.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal d...