Dr. Wilfred Jefferies
Departments of Medical Genetics
Microbiology & Immunology
Michael Smith Laboratories
Developing Systems to Examine the Functions of Iron Transport Molecules Expressed at the Brain Endothelium Which Form The Blood Brain Barrier
Iron is a requirement of living cells. Examining how mammalian cells acquire iron is fundamentally important for understanding how cells proliferate and survive. A particularly interesting problem is how cells within the brain acquire iron. The blood brain barrier (BBB) impedes the passive transport of molecules into the brain. We have developed systems to examine the functions of iron transport molecules expressed at the brain endothelium which form the BBB. We hope this work will allow us to create better methods for drug delivery to the site of neuropathologies.
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