Fig. 4
β1 integrin blockade increases cerebrovascular expression of MECA-32 and enhances loss of tight junction proteins in young mice under hypoxic conditions. A, C, E Frozen brain sections taken from young (8–10 weeks) mice exposed to normoxia or hypoxia (8% O2) that received daily intraperitoneal injections of the anti-mouse β1 integrin function-blocking antibody or isotype control antibody for 4 days were stained for MECA-32 (A), CD31 (AlexaFluor-488) and ZO-1 (Cy-3; C), or CD31 (AlexaFluor-488) and claudin-5 (Cy-3; E). All images were captured in the midbrain. Scale bar = 100 µm. B, D, F Quantification of the number of MECA-32 + vessels/FOV (B), or number of vessels/FOV lacking ZO-1 (D) or claudin-5 (F). Results are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n = 6 mice/group). **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Note that β1 integrin blockade increased cerebrovascular expression of MECA-32 and greatly enhanced loss of endothelial tight junction proteins in young mice under hypoxic conditions