Age-related ultrastructural neurovascular changes in the female mouse cortex and hippocampus

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown occurs in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Although age-associated alterations have previously been described, most studies focused in male brains; hence, lit-tle is known about BBB breakdown in females. This study measured ultrastructural features in the aging female BBB using transmission electron microscopy and 3-dimensional reconstruction of cortical and hippocampal capillaries from 6-and 24-month-old female C57BL/6J mice. Aged cortical capillaries showed more changes than hippocampal capillaries. Specifically, the aged cortex showed thicker base-ment membrane, higher number and volume of endothelial pseudopods, decreased endothelial mito-chondrial number, larger pericyte mitochondria, higher pericyte-endothelial cell contact, and increased tight junction tortuosity compared with young animals. Only increased basement membrane thickness and pericyte mitochondrial volume were observed in the aged hippocampus. Regional comparison revealed significant differences in endothelial pseudopods and tight junctions between the cortex and hippocampus of 24-month-old mice. Therefore, the aging female BBB shows region-specific ultrastruc-tural alterations that may lead to oxidative stress and abnormal capillary blood flow and barrier stability, potentially contributing to cerebrovascular diseases, particularly in postmenopausal women. (c) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.