However, previous work from our laboratory found that claudin-5 (CLN-5), a TJ protein prominent at the blood–brain barrier (BBB), was also detected, ectopically, on leukocytes (CLN-5+) in the blood and central nervous system (CNS) of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a neuroinflammatory, demyelinating disease that is a model for multiple sclerosis. This evidence concerns the gene CLDN5 and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.