PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Jin-Hui Yoon AU - Paul Shin AU - Jongyoon Joo AU - Gaon S. Kim AU - Wang-Yuhl Oh AU - Yong Jeong TI - Increased capillary stalling is associated with endothelial glycocalyx loss in subcortical vascular dementia AID - 10.1101/2020.04.08.031187 DP - 2020 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 2020.04.08.031187 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/05/04/2020.04.08.031187.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/05/04/2020.04.08.031187.full AB - Proper regulation and patency of cerebral microcirculation is crucial for maintaining a healthy brain. Capillary stalling, i.e., the brief interruption of microcirculation mainly by leukocytes, has been observed in several diseases and contributes to disease pathogenesis or progression. However, the underpinning mechanism for leukocyte capillary plugging remains elusive. Therefore, we investigated the mechanism of capillary stalling in mice during the development of subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD), the most common type of vascular dementia characterized by impaired microcirculation and associated pathological features. Longitudinal optical coherence tomography angiography showed increased number of stalled segments as the disease progressed, while two-photon microscopy indicated a less extensive endothelial glycocalyx (EG) in the stalled segments. We also found that increased gliosis and blood-brain barrier leakage were correlated with the increased number of stalled segments. Based on the above, we conclude that EG potentially mediates capillary stalling and can be a therapeutic target of SVaD.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.