Astrocyte activation and occludin degradation occur prior to vascular permeability and motor deficits.

<p>At 0, 4, 12 and 24 hours post administration of VP2_121–130 peptide, C57BL/6 mice were analyzed for (A) FITC-Albumin leakage in whole brain, (B) motor performance using rotarod analysis, (C) GFAP expression in whole brain, (F) Occludin protein levels in isolated brain microvessels, (E) Claudin-5 protein levels in isolated brain microvessels and (D) active caspase-3 protein levels in isolated brain microvessels. Mice were analyzed with rotarod analysis (B) just prior to harvesting CNS tissue. Also shown are 24 hours post-administration of control E7 peptide or VP2_121–130 peptide in C57BL/6 Prf1^−/− mouse tight junction protein levels of (G) claudin-5, (H) occludin.