Microvascular architecture and dynamics of the choroid plexus brain barrier

Abstract

The choroid plexus is a specialized blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier that supports cerebrospinal fluid production, immune surveillance, and molecular exchange between the circulation and the central nervous system, yet its vascular bed remains poorly understood. Here, we combine whole-tissue clearing and light-sheet imaging, single-nucleus transcriptomic reanalysis, and live calcium imaging of intact murine explants to define the structural and functional organization of choroid plexus endothelial networks across development. Three-dimensional imaging and reconstruction highlights a dense, epithelial-ensheathed vascular plexus that is continuous with the broader cerebrovasculature and organized into anatomically distinct inflow and ventricular margin regions. Transcriptomic analysis identified developmentally stratified endothelial subtypes, with embryonic populations enriched for proliferative, motor, and membrane remodeling programs and adult and aged populations enriched for adhesion, extracellular matrix, transport, and mechanosensory pathways. Endothelial subsets across stages expressed genes linked to flow sensing and calcium-dependent mechanotransduction, including Piezo1, Piezo2, and Trpv4. Consistent with these signatures, intact explants exhibited spontaneous, spatially graded calcium oscillations, and pharmacologic activation by Piezo1, triggered robust network-wide calcium responses in embryonic and adult tissue with distinct temporal dynamics. Piezo1 activation also promoted stabilization of PECAM1-associated endothelial adhesion under ex vivo flow conditions. Together, these findings establish the choroid plexus endothelium as a structurally specialized, developmentally dynamic, and mechanosensitive vascular network and provide a framework for investigating endothelial contributions to blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier function in health and disease.