Influence of polyunsaturated fatty acids on Cortisol transport through MDCK and MDCK-MDR1 cells as blood-brain barrier in vitro model

Transport across the blood-brain barrier is a relevant factor in the pharmacological action of many drugs and endogenous substances whose action site is located in brain. An overactive P-gp has been suggested to be of relevance for the resistance of the HPA system to be suppressed by glucocorticoids, which is one of the best described biological abnormalities in certain types of depression. PUFA acids have shown clinical efficacy in depressed patients and the hypothesis is that these compounds are able to reduce HPA axis activity as this effect has been shown in animal models of depression.The objective of the present work was (1) to characterize Cortisol transport through MDCK and MDCK-MDR1 cell lines (as in vitro models of the BBB) to confirm its transport mechanism as substrate of P-gp and (2) to evaluate the effect of PUFA acids as enhancers of Cortisol transport in the BBB model and explore the enhancement mechanism.Transport studies of Cortisol were performed in both directions, from apical-to-basolateral and from basolateral-to-apical sides. The in vitro experiments showed that Cortisol transport is concentration dependent and it is affected by several transporters (absorption and secretion processes). The results indicate that PUFA acids increase Cortisol transport in the BBB models but not through the inhibition of P-gp efflux but thanks to membrane fluidification and some effect on tight junction integrity.