The tight junction: a multifunctional complex

2004 ◽  
Vol 286 (6) ◽  
pp. C1213-C1228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eveline E. Schneeberger ◽  
Robert D. Lynch

Multicellular organisms are separated from the external environment by a layer of epithelial cells whose integrity is maintained by intercellular junctional complexes composed of tight junctions, adherens junctions, and desmosomes, whereas gap junctions provide for intercellular communication. The aim of this review is to present an updated overview of recent developments in the area of tight junction biology. In a relatively short time, our knowledge of the tight junction has evolved from a relatively simple view of it being a permeability barrier in the paracellular space and a fence in the plane of the plasma membrane to one of it acting as a multicomponent, multifunctional complex that is involved in regulating numerous and diverse cell functions. A group of integral membrane proteins—occludin, claudins, and junction adhesion molecules—interact with an increasingly complex array of tight junction plaque proteins not only to regulate paracellular solute and water flux but also to integrate such diverse processes as gene transcription, tumor suppression, cell proliferation, and cell polarity.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (14) ◽  
pp. 3513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinsaku Tokuda ◽  
Alan S. L. Yu

Epithelia act as a barrier to the external environment. The extracellular environment constantly changes, and the epithelia are required to regulate their function in accordance with the changes in the environment. It has been reported that a difference of the environment between the apical and basal sides of epithelia such as osmolality and hydrostatic pressure affects various epithelial functions including transepithelial transport, cytoskeleton, and cell proliferation. In this paper, we review the regulation of epithelial functions by the gradients of osmolality and hydrostatic pressure. We also examine the significance of this regulation in pathological conditions especially focusing on the role of the hydrostatic pressure gradient in the pathogenesis of carcinomas. Furthermore, we discuss the mechanism by which epithelia sense the osmotic and hydrostatic pressure gradients and the possible role of the tight junction as a sensor of the extracellular environment to regulate epithelial functions.


Author(s):  
B.K. Ghosh

Periplasm of bacteria is the space outside the permeability barrier of plasma membrane but enclosed by the cell wall. The contents of this special milieu exterior could be regulated by the plasma membrane from the internal, and by the cell wall from the external environment of the cell. Unlike the gram-negative organism, the presence of this space in gram-positive bacteria is still controversial because it cannot be clearly demonstrated. We have shown the importance of some periplasmic bodies in the secretion of penicillinase from Bacillus licheniformis.In negatively stained specimens prepared by a modified technique (Figs. 1 and 2), periplasmic space (PS) contained two kinds of structures: (i) fibrils (F, 100 Å) running perpendicular to the cell wall from the protoplast and (ii) an array of vesicles of various sizes (V), which seem to have evaginated from the protoplast.


1990 ◽  
Vol 258 (3) ◽  
pp. F612-F626 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Weinstein

A nonelectrolyte model of proximal tubule epithelium has been extended by the inclusion of a compliant tight junction. Here "compliance" signifies that both the junctional salt and water permeability increase and the salt reflection coefficient decreases in response to small pressure differences from lateral interspace to tubule lumen. In previous models of rat proximal tubule, there has been virtually no sensitivity of isotonic salt transport to changes in peritubular oncotic force. With the inclusion of junctional compliance, decreases in peritubular protein can open the junction and produce a secretory salt flux. Thus the model can represent the "backflux hypothesis," as it was originally put forth (J. E. Lewy and E. E. Windhager, Am. J. Physiol. 214: 943-954, 1968). Additional calculations, simulating a tight junction with negligible water permeability, reveal that the quantitative impact of peritubular protein can be realized whether or not there is substantial junctional water flux. The epithelial model of proximal tubule has also been incorporated into a model of the proximal nephron, complete with glomerulus, peritubular capillary, and interstitium. The interstitial compartment is well mixed and interstitial pressure and osmolality are determined iteratively to achieve balance between tubule reabsorption and capillary uptake. For this model, two domains of operation are identified. When interstitial pressures are low, junctions are closed, and filtration fraction has no effect on proximal reabsorption. When interstitial pressures are relatively elevated, epithelial junctions are open, and proximal salt reabsorption changes in proportion to changes in filtration fraction. In neither domain, however, does the model tubule augment salt flux with isolated increases in luminal flow rate (at constant filtration fraction). The absence of a separate effect of tubule fluid flow on salt transport precludes perfect glomerulotubular balance.


1997 ◽  
Vol 110 (8) ◽  
pp. 1005-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.S. Merzdorf ◽  
D.A. Goodenough

The tight junction is the most apical member of the intercellular junctional complex. It functions as a permeability barrier between epithelial cells and maintains the integrity of the apical and basolateral membrane domains. In order to study tight junctions in Xenopus laevis, a polyclonal antibody was raised which recognized Xenopus ZO-1. Monoclonal antibody 19B1 (mAb 19B1) was generated in rats using a crude membrane preparation from Xenopus lung as antigen. mAb 19B1 gave immunofluorescent staining patterns identical to those seen with anti-ZO-1 on monolayers of Xenopus A6 kidney epithelial cells and on frozen sections of Xenopus kidney, liver, and embryos. Electron microscopy showed that the 19B1 antigen colocalized with ZO-1 at the tight junction. Western blotting and immunoprecipitation demonstrated that ZO-1 is an approximately 220 kDa protein in Xenopus, while mAb 19B1 identified an approximately 210 kDa antigen on immunoblots. Immunoprecipitates of ZO-1 were not recognized by mAb 19B1 by western analysis. The solubility properties of the 19B1 antigen suggested that it is a peripheral membrane protein. Thus, the antigen recognized by the new monoclonal antibody 19B1 is not ZO-1 and represents a different Xenopus tight junction associated protein.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (11) ◽  
pp. 3247-3253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl J Niklas ◽  
Stuart A Newman

Abstract The multiple origins of multicellularity had far-reaching consequences ranging from the appearance of phenotypically complex life-forms to their effects on Earth’s aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Yet, many important questions remain. For example, do all lineages and clades share an ancestral developmental predisposition for multicellularity emerging from genomic and biophysical motifs shared from a last common ancestor, or are the multiple origins of multicellularity truly independent evolutionary events? In this review, we highlight recent developments and pitfalls in understanding the evolution of multicellularity with an emphasis on plants (here defined broadly to include the polyphyletic algae), but also draw upon insights from animals and their holozoan relatives, fungi and amoebozoans. Based on our review, we conclude that the evolution of multicellular organisms requires three phases (origination by disparate cell–cell attachment modalities, followed by integration by lineage-specific physiological mechanisms, and autonomization by natural selection) that have been achieved differently in different lineages.


1941 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart H. Hahn ◽  
Ivan Gazdik

Abstract Creep tests, extending in some cases as long as 900 days, indicate that both natural and synthetic rubbers such as Neoprene and butadiene copolymer can be compounded to give satisfactory service in shear mountings. At 140° F, creep is from two to nine times greater than at 80° F, depending on the compound. Tests at room temperature do not indicate either the amount of creep or the life to be expected at higher temperatures. Actual creep (measured in inches) increases with stress, but when expressed at percentage of initial deflection, it may be independent of stress. Creep curves are linear over a considerable range of time when plotted on log-log scales. However, extrapolation of such curves to predict results after very long times is not justified, because the curves may not continue to be linear, or failure of the mountings may occur, particularly at high temperatures. Short time tests of any sort are not necessarily indicative of the relative creep or life of compounds in long-time service. The tests reported here are a small portion of a large number which is being continued and augmented. It is hoped that these and other investigations now under way may contribute to clearing the picture of the complex interrelations between the many physical properties of compounds of rubberlike materials. The rubber technologist uses his specialized knowledge to develop a wide variety of compounds, making use of several types of basic rubberlike materials. He chooses whichever fits service requirements best from performance and economic viewpoints. Modern materials and recent developments in processing technique have made possible compounds suitable for a wide range of service conditions.


2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 1972-1985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Osada ◽  
Yu-Huan Gu ◽  
Masato Kanazawa ◽  
Yoshiaki Tsubota ◽  
Brian T Hawkins ◽  
...  

The hypothesis tested by these studies states that in addition to interendothelial cell tight junction proteins, matrix adhesion by β1-integrin receptors expressed by endothelial cells have an important role in maintaining the cerebral microvessel permeability barrier. Primary brain endothelial cells from C57 BL/6 mice were incubated with β1-rintegrin function-blocking antibody (Ha2/5) or isotype control and the impacts on claudin-5 expression and microvessel permeability were quantified. Both flow cytometry and immunofluorescence studies demonstrated that the interendothelial claudin-5 expression by confluent endothelial cells was significantly decreased in a time-dependent manner by Ha2/5 exposure relative to isotype. Furthermore, to assess the barrier properties, transendothelial electrical resistance and permeability measurements of the monolayer, and stereotaxic injection into the striatum of mice were performed. Ha2/5 incubation reduced the resistance of endothelial cell monolayers significantly, and significantly increased permeability to 40 and 150 k Da dextrans. Ha2/5 injection into mouse striatum produced significantly greater IgG extravasation than the isotype or the control injections. This study demonstrates that blockade of β1-integrin function changes interendothelial claudin-5 expression and increases microvessel permeability. Hence, endothelial cell-matrix interactions via β1-integrin directly affect interendothelial cell tight junction claudin-5 expression and brain microvascular permeability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. eaaz0330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziyi Guo ◽  
Joseph J. Richardson ◽  
Biao Kong ◽  
Kang Liang

Nanobiohybrids, synthesized by integrating functional nanomaterials with living systems, have emerged as an exciting branch of research at the interface of materials engineering and biological science. Nanobiohybrids use synthetic nanomaterials to impart organisms with emergent properties outside their scope of evolution. Consequently, they endow new or augmented properties that are either innate or exogenous, such as enhanced tolerance against stress, programmed metabolism and proliferation, artificial photosynthesis, or conductivity. Advances in new materials design and processing technologies made it possible to tailor the physicochemical properties of the nanomaterials coupled with the biological systems. To date, many different types of nanomaterials have been integrated with various biological systems from simple biomolecules to complex multicellular organisms. Here, we provide a critical overview of recent developments of nanobiohybrids that enable new or augmented biological functions that show promise in high-tech applications across many disciplines, including energy harvesting, biocatalysis, biosensing, medicine, and robotics.


2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 1540-1546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farideh Tafazoli ◽  
Carl Q. Zeng ◽  
Mary K. Estes ◽  
Karl-Erik Magnusson ◽  
Lennart Svensson

ABSTRACT The nonstructural NSP4 protein of rotavirus has been described as the first viral enterotoxin. In this study we have examined the effect of NSP4 on polarized epithelial cells (MDCK-1) grown on permeable filters. Apical but not basolateral administration of NSP4 was found to cause a reduction in the transepithelial electrical resistance, redistribution of filamentous actin, and an increase in paracellular passage of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran. Significant effects on transepithelial electrical resistance were noted after a 20- to 30-h incubation with 1 nmol of NSP4. Most surprisingly, the epithelium recovered its original integrity and electrical resistance upon removal of NSP4. Preincubation of nonconfluent MDCK-1 cells with NSP4 prevented not only development of a permeability barrier but also lateral targeting of the tight-junction-associated Zonula Occludens-1 (ZO-1) protein. Taken together, these data indicate new and specific effects of NSP4 on tight-junction biogenesis and show a novel effect of NSP4 on polarized epithelia.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document