Johnson Larry G
Cystic Fibrosis Pulmonary Research and Treatment Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7248, USA.
Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2005 Jan 2;57(1):111-21. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2004.08.004.
The intercellular junctional complex, which consists of the tight junction (TJ), adherens junction, and desmosomes, mediates cell-cell adhesion in epithelia and endothelia. The TJ forms the apical-most portion of this complex in epithelia, serving as a fence to lateral diffusion of apical and basolateral membrane components and as a semi-permeable barrier or gate to the flow of ions and solutes through the paracellular pathway. The TJ consists of a series of integral membrane and cytoplasmic plaque proteins with complex interactions. Included among the TJ proteins are the claudins, which play a major role in mediating the charge and solute selectivity of the junction. Yet, the profile of claudin and associated protein expression differs among epithelia and the function and regulation of many of the TJ proteins remain unknown. This review discusses the application of techniques to discern the function, localization, and regulation of epithelial TJs based on examples from published studies.
细胞间连接复合体由紧密连接(TJ)、黏着连接和桥粒组成,介导上皮细胞和内皮细胞间的黏附。在上皮细胞中,紧密连接形成该复合体的最顶端部分,起到限制顶端和基底外侧膜成分侧向扩散的屏障作用,并作为离子和溶质通过细胞旁途径流动的半透性屏障或闸门。紧密连接由一系列具有复杂相互作用的整合膜蛋白和细胞质斑块蛋白组成。紧密连接蛋白包括闭合蛋白,其在介导连接的电荷和溶质选择性方面起主要作用。然而,闭合蛋白及相关蛋白的表达谱在不同上皮细胞中存在差异,许多紧密连接蛋白的功能和调节仍不清楚。本综述基于已发表研究的实例,讨论了用于识别上皮紧密连接的功能、定位和调节的技术应用。