Headline : Scientists discover how an essential nutrient enters the brain

Read more from the original article on here at www.nih.gov.

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NIH-funded study may inform the design of new therapies that cross the blood-brain barrier.

Researchers have discovered that choline, an essential nutrient vital for brain health, is actively transported from the bloodstream into the brain by a protein. The findings may inform the development of new drugs that take advantage of this mechanism to treat brain disorders. The study, published in Nature, was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Using brain tissue from mice and humans, researchers found that the protein, known as FLVCR2, was densely present in the blood-brain barrier, a tightly packed layer of cells that line the brain’s blood vessels. Specifically, FLVCR2 was embedded in endothelial cells, which are specialized cells that control the flow of nutrients and small molecules from the blood to the brain. Additional experiments showed that FLVCR2 selectively recognizes and shuttles choline into the brain.

The blood-brain barrier is a protective cell layer that shields the brain from toxins, microbes, and other harmful pathogens. The barrier also prevents many drugs that have the potential to treat neurological disorders from getting into the brain. Understanding how FLVCR2 interacts with choline and other molecules could help scientists develop drugs that mimic choline and use this molecular gateway to enter the brain.

Read more from the original article on here at www.nih.gov.

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