Claudin-based permeability barriers in taste buds.
AuthorsMichlig S, Damak S, Le Coutre J
JournalJ Comp Neurol
PubMed ID17447253
'Tight junctions operate as semipermeable barriers in epithelial tissue, separating the apical from the basolateral sides of the cells. Membrane proteins of the claudin family represent the major tight junction constituents, and some reinforce permeability barriers, whereas others create pores based on solute size and ion selectivity. To outline paracellular ... More
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
Polyamines are necessary for synthesis and stability of occludin protein in intestinal epithelial cells.
AuthorsGuo X, Rao JN, Liu L, Zou T, Keledjian KM, Boneva D, Marasa BS, Wang JY,
JournalAm J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol
PubMed ID15691870
'Occludin is an integral membrane protein that forms the sealing element of tight junctions and is critical for epithelial barrier function. Polyamines are implicated in multiple signaling pathways driving different biological functions of intestinal epithelial cells (IEC). The present study determined whether polyamines are involved in expression of occludin and ... More
Claudin-1 has tumor suppressive activity and is a direct target of RUNX3 in gastric epithelial cells.
AuthorsChang TL, Ito K, Ko TK, Liu Q, Salto-Tellez M, Yeoh KG, Fukamachi H, Ito Y,
JournalGastroenterology
PubMed ID19706291
'The transcription factor RUNX3 is a gastric tumor suppressor. Tumorigenic Runx3(-/-) gastric epithelial cells attach weakly to each other, compared with nontumorigenic Runx3(+/+) cells. We aimed to identify RUNX3 target genes that promote cell-cell contact to improve our understanding of RUNX3''s role in suppressing gastric carcinogenesis. We compared gene expression ... 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
Regulated expression of claudin-4 decreases paracellular conductance through a selective decrease in sodium permeability.
AuthorsVan Itallie C, Rahner C, Anderson JM,
JournalJ Clin Invest
PubMed ID11375422
'Tight junctions regulate paracellular conductance and ionic selectivity. These properties vary among epithelia but the molecular basis of this variation remains unknown. To test whether members of the claudin family of tight junction proteins influence paracellular ionic selectivity, we expressed human claudin-4 in cultured MDCK cells using an inducible promoter. ... More
Gastroesophageal reflux activates the NF-?B pathway and impairs esophageal barrier function in mice.
AuthorsFang Y, Chen H, Hu Y, Djukic Z, Tevebaugh W, Shaheen NJ, Orlando RC, Hu J, Chen X,
JournalAm J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol
PubMed ID23639809
The barrier function of the esophageal epithelium is a major defense against gastroesophageal reflux disease. Previous studies have shown that reflux damage is reflected in a decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance associated with tight junction alterations in the esophageal epithelium. To develop novel therapies, it is critical to understand the ... More
Loss of hepatocyte-nuclear-factor-4alpha affects colonic ion transport and causes chronic inflammation resembling inflammatory bowel disease in mice.
AuthorsDarsigny M, Babeu JP, Dupuis AA, Furth EE, Seidman EG, Lévy E, Verdu EF, Gendron FP, Boudreau F,
JournalPLoS One
PubMed ID19898610
Hnf4alpha, an epithelial specific transcriptional regulator, is decreased in inflammatory bowel disease and protects against chemically-induced colitis in mice. However, the precise role of this factor in maintaining normal inflammatory homeostasis of the intestine remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sole role of epithelial Hnf4alpha ... More
Hypoxia increases transepithelial electrical conductance and reduces occludin at the plasma membrane in alveolar epithelial cells via PKC-? and PP2A pathway.
During pulmonary edema, the alveolar space is exposed to a hypoxic environment. The integrity of the alveolar epithelial barrier is required for the reabsorption of alveolar fluid. Tight junctions (TJ) maintain the integrity of this barrier. We set out to determine whether hypoxia creates a dysfunctional alveolar epithelial barrier, evidenced ... More
Complexity and developmental changes in the expression pattern of claudins at the blood-CSF barrier.
AuthorsKratzer I, Vasiljevic A, Rey C, Fevre-Montange M, Saunders N, Strazielle N, Ghersi-Egea JF,
JournalHistochem Cell Biol
PubMed ID22886143
The choroid plexus epithelium controls the movement of solutes between the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid. It has been considered as a functionally more immature interface during brain development than in adult. The anatomical basis of this barrier is the interepithelial choroidal junction whose tightness has been attributed to the ... More