Transport Proteins and Cellular Signaling in Choroid Plexus Epithelia

Symposium — Monday, April 24, 2024 — 3:15 PM - 5:15 PM — , Room W194B
Cell and Molecular Physiology Section — Chair: Bonnie Blazer-Yost — Co-Chair: Jeppe Praetorius

The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is important for sustaining brain health by 1) providing hydration, solutes and nutrients to the CSF, 2) circulating signaling molecules within the compartments of the brain, and 3) removing waste products from the CSF. The production and absorption of CSF is a dynamic process with the CSF being renewed multiple times in a diurnal cycle.  The choroid plexus, formed by tufts of capillaries covered by an epithelial layer, is responsible for the majority of CSF production. The epithelial cells form the blood-CSF barrier and control the movement of fluid and electrolyte transport and thus the final composition of the CSF. A wide variety of transport proteins have been identified in the polarized epithelial cells but the factors regulating the activity of these transporters is virtually unknown.      Elucidating the regulation of transport proteins in the choroid plexus is important for understanding normal brain development and function, but is also crucial for resolving a variety of cerebral challenges that lead to brain edema as well as developing treatment for diseases such as pediatric hydrocephalus, normal pressure adult hydrocephalus, sleep disorders, and age-related dementia. We believe that recent progress in the field warrants a symposium on transporters and signaling in the choroid plexus epithelia. The symposium is expected to attract scientists from the broader fields of blood-brain-barriers, transport physiology as well as water and solute homeostasis. One of the major goals of the symposia is to stimulate cross-disciplinary discussion regarding the regulation of CSF quantity and quality in both health and disease.

Speakers

• Cerebrospinal fluid secretion and pH regulation by the choroid plexus
  Helle Hasager Damkier — Cellular and Molecular Medicine, The Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen


• Cation-chloride cotransporters and aquaporins in CSF secretion and K⁺ homeostasis by choroid plexus epithelial cells
  Francisco Javier Alvarez-Leefmans — Pharmacology and Toxicology, Wright State University, Boonshoft School of Medicine


• Choroidal Influx and efflux transport processes to control developing brain fluid environment
  Jean-Francois Ghersi-Egea — Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, University of Lyon, INSERM, France


• TRPV4 modulation of transepithelial transport in choroid plexus epithelia
  Bonnie Blazer-Yost — Biology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis