ArticleMolecular psychiatry2022
Association between vascular endothelial growth factor-mediated blood-brain barrier dysfunction and stress-induced depression.
Article in Molecular psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 93 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
93 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 135 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in major depressive disorder: an update meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Gut microbiota of patients with post-stroke depression in Chinese population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Depression and lifestyle: Focusing on nutrition, exercise, and their possible relevance to molecular mechanisms.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2023Pooled it
- Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound combined with microbubbles enhances amphotericin B delivery across the blood-brain barrier for improved therapy of cryptococcal meningitis.Drug delivery · 2026Article
- RTMS Mitigates Simulated Spaceflight-Induced Emotional Dysfunction Through VEGFR-2-Mediated Neuroprotection.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Role of the Blood-Brain Barrier in the Pathophysiology of Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and Schizophrenia: A Comparative Review.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Article
- Liver-derived complement component 3 promotes the susceptibility to stress-induced depression by impairing blood-brain barrier integrity.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Intestinal and Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction in Lupus: Emerging Mechanisms and Modulation by Cinnamon.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- [Mechanisms and intervention strategies by which neuropsychological stress promotes central nervous system tumor recurrence through bloodZhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2026Review
- A longitudinal study of CLDN5 DNA methylation and PTSD.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2026Article
- Immunity in Rodent Models of Stress.Biological psychiatry · 2026Review
- Article
- Molecular Characterization of the Progressive Landscape of Depression.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Nitric Oxide-S-Nitrosylation and Its Role in Neuroinflammation Associated with Neuropsychiatric Conditions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Early life stress exposure alters brain vasculature transcriptomic profiles in areas regulating stress resilience.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The crosstalk between blood-brain barrier and neural cells: bidirectional regulation of brain function and pathology.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Review
- Oligodendrocyte: Development, Plasticity, Biological Functions, Diseases, and Therapeutic Targets.MedComm · 2026Review
- From energy metabolism to mood regulation: The rise of lactate as a therapeutic target.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Environmental enrichment and physical exercise prevent stress-induced social avoidance and blood-brain barrier alterations via Fgf2.Nature communications · 2026Article
33 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Several lines of evidence suggest that stress induces the neurovascular dysfunction associated with increased blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, which could be an important pathology linking stress and psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the detailed mechanism resulting in BBB dysfunction associated in the pathophysiology of MDD still remains unclear. Herein, we demonstrate the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a key mediator of vascular angiogenesis and BBB permeability, in stress-induced BBB dysfunction and depressive-like behavior development. We implemented an animal model of depression, chronic restraint stress (RS) in BALB/c mice, and found that the BBB permeability was significantly increased in chronically stressed mice. Immunohistochemical and electron microscopic observations revealed that increased BBB permeability was associated with both paracellular and transcellular barrier alterations in the brain endothelial cells. Pharmacological inhibition of VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) using a specific monoclonal antibody (DC101) prevented chronic RS-induced BBB permeability and anhedonic behavior. Considered together, these results indicate that VEGF/VEGFR2 plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of depression by increasing the BBB permeability, and suggest that VEGFR2 inhibition could be a potential therapeutic strategy for the MDD subtype associated with BBB dysfunction.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.