Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2002 Jun;38(6):339-48.
doi: 10.1016/s1537-1891(02)00201-x.

Drug transport to the brain: key roles for the efflux pump P-glycoprotein in the blood-brain barrier

Michel Demeule  1 , Anthony Régina, Julie Jodoin, Alain Laplante, Claude Dagenais, France Berthelet, Albert Moghrabi, Richard Béliveau
Affiliations
Review

Drug transport to the brain: key roles for the efflux pump P-glycoprotein in the blood-brain barrier

Michel Demeule et al. Vascul Pharmacol. 2002 Jun.

Abstract

1. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) contributes to brain homeostastis and fulfills a protective function by controlling the access of solutes and toxic substances to the central nervous system (CNS). The efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a key element of the molecular machinery that confers special permeability properties to the BBB. 2. P-gp, which was initially recognized for its ability to expel anticancer drugs from multidrug-resistant cancer cells, is strongly expressed in brain capillaries. Its expression in the BBB limits the accumulation of many hydrophobic molecules and potentially toxic substances in the brain. 3. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current state of knowledge about the expression of P-gp, its cellular localization as well as its possible functions in the BBB.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources