Focal adhesion kinase-Tyr407 and -Tyr397 exhibit antagonistic effects on blood-testis barrier dynamics in the rat.
AuthorsLie PP, Mruk DD, Mok KW, Su L, Lee WM, Cheng CY,
JournalProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
PubMed ID22797892
'Focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase, displays phosphorylation-dependent localization in the seminiferous epithelium of adult rat testes. FAK is an integrated component of the blood-testis barrier (BTB) involved in regulating Sertoli cell adhesion via its effects on the occludin-zonula occludens-1 complex. Herein, we report that p-FAK-Tyr(407) and ... More
rpS6 regulates blood-testis barrier dynamics through Akt-mediated effects on MMP-9.
AuthorsMok KW, Mruk DD, Cheng CY,
Journal
PubMed ID25217631
'Mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is an emerging regulator of blood-tissue barriers that utilizes ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6) as the downstream signaling molecule. To explore the role of rpS6 in blood-testis barrier (BTB) function, a constitutively active quadruple rpS6 phosphomimetic mutant was constructed in mammalian expression vector and ... More
Loss of Cadherin-Binding Proteins ß-Catenin and Plakoglobin in the Heart Leads to Gap Junction Remodeling and Arrhythmogenesis.
AuthorsSwope D, Cheng L, Gao E, Li J, Radice GL,
JournalMol Cell Biol
PubMed ID22252313
Arrhythmic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a hereditary heart muscle disease that causes sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people. Almost half of ARVC patients have a mutation in genes encoding cell adhesion proteins of the desmosome, including plakoglobin (JUP). We previously reported that cardiac tissue-specific plakoglobin (PG) knockout (PG ... More
Regulation of the blood-testis barrier by coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor.
AuthorsSu L, Mruk DD, Cheng CY,
JournalAm J Physiol Cell Physiol
PubMed ID22875787
The blood-testis barrier (BTB) divides the seminiferous epithelium into the basal and the adluminal compartment. It restricts paracellular diffusion of molecules between Sertoli cells, confers cell polarity, and creates a unique microenvironment in the adluminal compartment for spermatid development. However, it undergoes restructuring during the epithelial cycle so that preleptotene ... More