No Static at All: A New Perspective on Molecular Architecture of the Tight Junction

Permeability of the intestinal epithelial barrier is regulated in response to physiological and pathophysiological stimuli. Recent work has characterized a critical role of acute tight junction regulation in diarrhea secondary to T cell activation and cytokine release. The intracellular mediators of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2009-05, Vol.1165 (1), p.314-322
Main Authors: Graham, W. Vallen, Marchiando, Amanda M., Shen, Le, Turner, Jerrold R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Permeability of the intestinal epithelial barrier is regulated in response to physiological and pathophysiological stimuli. Recent work has characterized a critical role of acute tight junction regulation in diarrhea secondary to T cell activation and cytokine release. The intracellular mediators of the ensuing barrier dysfunction include myosin light chain kinase, which phosphorylates myosin II regulatory light chain and triggers structural tight junction reorganization. While the molecular intermediates in this reorganization are not defined, the new discovery that individual tight junction–associated proteins are highly dynamic at steady state may provide insight into the mechanisms of regulation.
ISSN:0077-8923
1749-6632
DOI:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04050.x