The mouse blood-brain barrier and blood-nerve barrier for IgG: a tracer study by use of the avidin-biotin system.

To study the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the blood-nerve barrier (BNB) for immunoglobulin G (IgG) we adapted the avidin-biotin system for postembedding demonstration of the tracer IgG in the central and peripheral nervous system (CNS, PNS). Normal mouse and human IgG were biotinylated and injected daily into the intraperitoneal (i.p.) space of adult BDF1 mice. After 24h, IgG was detected in blood vessels and in the interstitium of various organs, but staining was restricted to the dura mater in the CNS, to the spinal ganglia, and to the perineurium of peripheral nerves. After 4 days, IgG was also present in the endoneurial connective tissue of peripheral nerves, while the brain, spinal cord, and spinal roots remained free of IgG. Our results show a partial permeability of the normal mouse BNB for homologous and heterologous IgG.