Year of Publication
2021
College
Agriculture, Food and Environment
Department/School/Program
Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology
Degree Name
Bachelors in Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology
Faculty Advisor
Bjoern Bauer
Abstract
Epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease are two prevalent neurological disorders. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a factor in why there are no long-term treatments for these diseases. The transporters in the neurovascular unit (NVU), which makes up the BBB, are highly specialized, so most drugs cannot pass the barrier to treat these diseases. It is unknown why drug uptake in the BBB varies in a diseased and wild-type brain, but one theory is that there are spatial differences in the NVU. One method for examining the NVU is the CLARITY tissue clearing technique which is unique in its capability to clear and image large quantities of tissue. Developing and optimizing the methods for the CLARITY tissue clearing process, antibody labeling, and imaging was the focus of this study. The images were quantitatively analyzed for percentage area antibody staining and qualitatively analyzed for morphological differences in the NVU.
Recommended Citation
Robbe, Rachel, "Visualizing Barrier Dysfunction Using CLARITY" (2021). Lewis Honors College Thesis Collection. 2.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/honors_theses/2
