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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Aug 5.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Aging. 2021 Mar 15;1(3):243–254. doi: 10.1038/s43587-021-00043-5

Table 1 |.

Structural changes in the aging vBBB

Structural change evaluated Species/tissue source Age range Method Parameters Change with age Ref.
BBB leakiness/coverage Human surgical resections 10–79 years TEM, regression analysis Vesicular density No 11
TJP length No
TJP wide gaps No
TJP close gaps No
C57BL6/J mouse 3–4 months versus 18 months TEM, statistical comparison of means TJP gaps No 145
vacuoles No
Male Wistar rats 2–3 months versus 14–16 months TEM, statistical comparison of means TJP average length No 146
TJP number Yes (trend), decrease
TJP total length per capillary Yes (trend), decrease
Endothelial organelles Human surgical resections 10–79 years TEM, regression analysis Cytoplasmic area, gray matter No 11
Cytoplasmic area, white matter Yes, increased
Mitochondria number No
Mitochondria area No
Mitochondrial density No
Male Wistar rats 2–3 months versus 14–16 months TEM, statistical comparison of means Capillary thickness Yes, increased 145
NVU composition Human surgical resections 10–79 years TEM, regression analysis BM thickness No 11
Pericyte area, gray matter No
Pericyte area, white matter Yes, decreased
C57BL6/J mouse brains 3–4 months versus 18 months TEM, statistical comparison of means Pericyte coverage No 145
Astrocyte endfeet area No
BM thickness No
C57BL6/J mouse brains 6 months versus 24 months TEM, statistical comparison of means; no statistics BM thickness Yes, increased 111
Lipid-droplet accumulation between BM and astrocyte endfeet Yes, increased
Male Wistar rats 2–3 months versus 14–16 months TEM, statistical comparison of means BM thickness Yes, increased 146
Astrocyte endfeet coverage Yes, increased
Pericyte numbers No