Images of capillaries in the human choroid plexus

Hello,
I searched the literature for either EM, SEM, or optical images that visualize the blood vessels down to the capillary level inside the human choroid plexus. Surprisingly, there are very few of those. I found a single paper from 2008 (J Anat. 213: 259-65) that I was able to access. Earlier studies from the 70s or 80s were not accessible. I am seeking more current images which I hope that the Allen Institute may possess. My initial inquiry was directed to them, but they suggested I post my question here. I still think they are the most likely source of such images and hope will address my quest…
Thank you,
Arie Horowitz

Hi @Arie,
Thank you for checking with the Allen Brain Map. Indeed, this seems to be an area that is under-researched! At this time, the Allen Institute does not have EM- or SEM-level images of the choroid plexus from human brain. The MiCrONs Explorer presents our highest image resolution data that we have available, but only in a small area from the cerebral cortex in mouse.

If you are interested in exploring light-level images, visit the Allen Human Brain Atlas, which has histological images and gene expression data from human choroid plexus and associated vascular structure. An example image is available here. A reference map for adult human brain shows the annotated structure (CPLV). There is an interesting review article by Huntley, et al. (2014) on the blood brain barrier that provides references and molecular information on CPLV in this context.

Best of luck with your research, and please feel free to update this thread if you find more information on this topic.

Hi (??? - it would be nice to have a name to respond to)

Thank you for your reply. The choroid plexus does not consist of neuronal tissue, possibly accounting for the Allen Institute’s lack of images of this structure, but it is indeed under-studied.

Thank you for referring me to the Human Brain Atlas data - the resolution is too low to visualize internal structures in the choroid plexus. And thank you also for the Huntley et al. reference.

Arie