Cerebrovascular permeability to azo dyes and plasma proteins in rodents of different ages

The often quoted investigation by Behnsen provides some evidence for an increased permeability of the neonatal mouse blood-brain barrier (BBB) to trypan blue compared to the adult. Trypan blue, which circulates in plasma mainly bound to albumin, is commonly used as a macromolecular tracer, although Behnsen probably injected dyes in amounts exceeding the dye-binding capacity of plasma proteins. The cerebrovascular permeability in neonatal and adult mice and rats was investigated using the visual tracers trypan blue and Evans blue and immunocytochemical staining for endogenous plasma proteins. By administering different concentrations of the dyes, the permeability of the BBB was assessed. The presence of the dyes in plasma as either dye-protein complexes or as free dye was measured by a plasma protein binding assay. When dyes occurred in plasma as macromolecular dye-protein complexes, dyes and plasma proteins were restricted to CNS regions normally devoid of a BBB in both neonates and adults. When unbound (free) dyes occurred in plasma, dyes were observed intraneuronally in regions without projections beyond the BBB in both neonates and adults corresponding to that observed by Behnsen; intraneuronal accumulation of plasma proteins also occurred in regions with projections confined to the BBB but only in neonates. It is concluded that the BBB to macromolecular tracers is fully developed at birth in mouse and rats. However, when free dye is present in plasma, there is a differential permeability to plasma proteins between neonates and adults.