PENETRATION OF THE BLOOD-BRAIN-BARRIER - ENHANCEMENT OF DRUG-DELIVERYAND IMAGING BY BACTERIAL GLYCOPEPTIDES

The blood-brain barrier restricts the passage of many pharmacological agents into the brain parenchyma. Bacterial glycopeptides induce enhan ced blood-brain barrier permeability when they are present in the suba rachnoid space during meningitis. By presenting such glycopeptides int ravenously, blood-brain barrier permeability in rabbits was enhanced i n a reversible time- and dose-dependent manner to agents less than or equal to 20 kD in size. Therapeutic application of this bioactivity wa s evident as enhanced penetration of the antibiotic penicillin and the magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent gadolinium-diethylene-triam ine-pentaacetic acid into the brain parenchyma.