Fig. 1.

Activation of ALK1 receptor increases expression of Oatp1a4 at the BBB starting at 4 hours post-BMP-9 treatment. (A) Animals were administered a single dose of BMP-9 (1 μg/kg, i.p.) or 0.9% saline (indicated as 0 hour). Following the time course of 2–6 hours, animals were sacrificed and brain microvessels were isolated and prepared for western blot analysis. Isolated microvessels (10 μg) were resolved on a 4%–12% SDS-polyacrylamide gel, transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membrane and analyzed for expression of Oatp1a4. (B) Relative levels of Oatp1a4 protein expression were determined by densitometric analysis and normalized to α-tubulin. Drug-treated groups were compared with control groups (i.e., 0 hour group treated with 0.9% saline only). Western blot data are reported as mean ± S.D. from at least three independent experiments, where each treatment group consisted of three individual animals (n = 3). Asterisks represent data points that were significantly different from control (*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01).