Cell-cell communication in the neurogliovascular unit at the level of the blood-brain barrier: focus on endothelial-glial interactions, inflammation and the role of Ca2+ and connexins

The research proposal focuses on the fundamental understanding of connexin-based intercellular Ca2+ signaling in the neurogliovascular unit, where brain endothelial cells that form the blood-brain barrier interact with glial cells and neurons, and in choroid plexus epithelium that forms the blood-CSF barrier. We study these connexin-dependent intercellular signaling processes in an inflammatory context that is associated with many CNS diseases.