Research Paper Volume 15, Issue 20 pp 10972—10995
Chronic kidney disease causes blood-brain barrier breakdown via urea-activated matrix metalloproteinase-2 and insolubility of tau protein
Figure 7. Schematic summary of the study forming the kidney–brain axis. Healthy kidneys sufficiently filtrate and excrete uremic solutes and toxins into urine. Thus, expressions of tight-junction proteins (TJPs) and adherens-junction proteins were sustained, offering fine tuning of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and proper synaptic and neuronal functioning. Subsequently, the influx of neurotoxic solutes due to BBB opening causes neurodegeneration. The accumulation of insoluble tau or RNA-binding proteins similar to Alzheimer’s disease might result in cognitive decline in CKD. CKD, chronic kidney disease; MMP2, matrix metalloproteinase-2. Created with BioRender.com.