CD44 regulates tight-junction assembly and barrier function.
AuthorsKirschner N, Haftek M, Niessen CM, Behne MJ, Furuse M, Moll I, Brandner JM,
JournalJ Invest Dermatol
PubMed ID21191420
'Upon barrier disturbance, adult CD44 knockout (KO) mice show delayed recovery of epidermal barrier function. This correlates with the loss of apical polarization of lamellar body (LB) secretion. As tight junctions (TJs) are crucial for barrier function and regulate polarized targeting of vesicles, we hypothesized that CD44 regulates TJs and ... More
Cadherin adhesion receptors orient the mitotic spindle during symmetric cell division in mammalian epithelia.
'Oriented cell division is a fundamental determinant of tissue organization. Simple epithelia divide symmetrically in the plane of the monolayer to preserve organ structure during epithelial morphogenesis and tissue turnover. For this to occur, mitotic spindles must be stringently oriented in the Z-axis, thereby establishing the perpendicular division plane between ... More
Mouse germ cell clusters form by aggregation as well as clonal divisions.
AuthorsMork L, Tang H, Batchvarov I, Capel B,
JournalMech Dev
PubMed ID22245112
'After their arrival in the fetal gonad, mammalian germ cells express E-cadherin and are found in large clusters, similar to germ cell cysts in Drosophila. In Drosophila, germ cells in cysts are connected by ring canals. Several molecular components of intercellular bridges in mammalian cells have been identified, including TEX14, ... More
Differential expression of claudin tight junction proteins in the human cortical nephron.
AuthorsKirk A, Campbell S, Bass P, Mason J, Collins J
JournalNephrol Dial Transplant
PubMed ID20124215
In renal tubules, paracellular permeability is tightly controlled to facilitate solute absorption and urinary concentration and is regulated by tight junctions, which incorporate claudin proteins. There is very limited information confirming the localization of these proteins in the human renal cortex. Most data is inferred from mouse, bovine and rabbit ... More
Simple-sugar meals target GLUT2 at enterocyte apical membranes to improve sugar absorption: a study in GLUT2-null mice.
AuthorsGouyon F, Caillaud L, Carriere V, Klein C, Dalet V, Citadelle D, Kellett GL, Thorens B, Leturque A, Brot-Laroche E,
JournalJ Physiol
PubMed ID12937289
The physiological significance of the presence of GLUT2 at the food-facing pole of intestinal cells is addressed by a study of fructose absorption in GLUT2-null and control mice submitted to different sugar diets. Confocal microscopy localization, protein and mRNA abundance, as well as tissue and membrane vesicle uptakes of fructose ... More
VEGF-mediated angiogenesis links EMT-induced cancer stemness to tumor initiation.
AuthorsFantozzi A, Gruber DC, Pisarsky L, Heck C, Kunita A, Yilmaz M, Meyer-Schaller N, Cornille K, Hopfer U, Bentires-Alj M, Christofori G,
Journal
PubMed ID24413534
An epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) underlies malignant tumor progression and metastatic spread by enabling cancer cells to depart from the primary tumor, invade surrounding tissue, and disseminate to distant organs. EMT also enriches for cancer stem cells (CSC) and increases the capacity of cancer cells to initiate and propagate tumors upon ... More
Integrin Beta 1 suppresses multilayering of a simple epithelium.
AuthorsChen J, Krasnow MA,
JournalPLoS One
PubMed ID23285215
Epithelia are classified as either simple, a single cell layer thick, or stratified (multilayered). Stratified epithelia arise from simple epithelia during development, and transcription factor p63 functions as a key positive regulator of epidermal stratification. Here we show that deletion of integrin beta 1 (Itgb1) in the developing mouse airway ... More
Diverse roles of Eph/ephrin signaling in the mouse lens.
AuthorsCheng C, Gong X,
JournalPLoS One
PubMed ID22140528
Recent genetic studies show that the Eph/ephrin bidirectional signaling pathway is associated with both congenital and age-related cataracts in mice and humans. We have investigated the molecular mechanisms of cataractogenesis and the roles of ephrin-A5 and EphA2 in the lens. Ephrin-A5 knockout ?/? mice often display anterior polar cataracts while ... More
Adherens junctions in myelinating Schwann cells stabilize Schmidt-Lanterman incisures via recruitment of p120 catenin to E-cadherin.
AuthorsTricaud N, Perrin-Tricaud C, Brusés JL, Rutishauser U,
JournalJ Neurosci
PubMed ID15800180
Schwann cell myelin contains highly compacted layers of membrane as well as noncompacted regions with a visible cytoplasm. One of these cytoplasmic compartments is the Schmidt-Lanterman incisure, which spirals through the compacted layers and is believed to help sustain the growth and function of compact myelin. Incisures contain adherens junctions ... More
Mechanical compression drives cancer cells toward invasive phenotype.
AuthorsTse JM, Cheng G, Tyrrell JA, Wilcox-Adelman SA, Boucher Y, Jain RK, Munn LL
JournalProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
PubMed ID22203958
Uncontrolled growth in a confined space generates mechanical compressive stress within tumors, but little is known about how such stress affects tumor cell behavior. Here we show that compressive stress stimulates migration of mammary carcinoma cells. The enhanced migration is accomplished by a subset of "leader cells" that extend filopodia ... More
The small GTPases Rho and Rac are required for the establishment of cadherin-dependent cell-cell contacts.
AuthorsBraga VM, Machesky LM, Hall A, Hotchin NA
JournalJ Cell Biol
PubMed ID9182672
Cadherins are calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion molecules that require the interaction of the cytoplasmic tail with the actin cytoskeleton for adhesive activity. Because of the functional relationship between cadherin receptors and actin filament organization, we investigated whether members of the Rho family of small GTPases are necessary for cadherin adhesion. In ... More