Cortistatin deficiency reveals a dysfunctional brain endothelium with impaired gene pathways, exacerbated immune activation, and disrupted barrier integrity.

The neuropeptide cortistatin has a key role in the physiology of the cerebral microvasculature and its presence is crucial to develop a canonical balanced response to damage. The reparative effects of cortistatin in the brain endothelium were accompanied by the modulation of the immune function and the rescue of barrier integrity. Cortistatin-based therapies could emerge as a novel pleiotropic strategy to ameliorate neuroinflammatory/neurodegenerative disorders with disrupted BBB.