Tight junctions articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Meshworks of claudin polymers control the paracellular transport and barrier properties of epithelial tight junctions. Here, the authors show different claudin nanoscale organization principles, finding that claudin segregation enables barrier formation and paracellular ion flux across tight junctions.

    • Hannes Gonschior
    • , Christopher Schmied
    •  & Martin Lehmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tight junctions are formed by claudin proteins that can be classified as pore- or barrier-forming. Here, Shashikanth et al. report a third function, termed interclaudin interference, in which one claudin inhibits pore function of another claudin by disrupting its polymeric complexes.

    • Nitesh Shashikanth
    • , Marion M. France
    •  & Jerrold R. Turner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The formation of a hollow lumen surrounded by cells is a key developmental process that sets the shape of tissues and organs. Here, the authors show how the combined influence of geometric constraints imposed by cell packing and osmotic pressure can generate the diverse range in lumen shapes observed in different tissues.

    • Claudia G. Vasquez
    • , Vipul T. Vachharajani
    •  & Alexander R. Dunn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The main components of tight junctions (TJ) are claudins that polymerize and form meshwork architectures called TJ strands. Here the authors present the 3.6 Å crystal structure of murine claudin-3 and show that residue P134 causes a bending of the third transmembrane helix which affects the morphology and adhesiveness of the TJ strands.

    • Shun Nakamura
    • , Katsumasa Irie
    •  & Yoshinori Fujiyoshi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In multi-layered epithelia tight junctions (TJ) are confined to the most suprabasal viable layer. Here the authors show that this is regulated by ubiquitously localized E-cadherin tuning junctional tension and EGFR activity to inhibit TJ formation in lower layers while promoting TJ stability in the granular layer 2.

    • Matthias Rübsam
    • , Aaron F. Mertz
    •  & Carien M. Niessen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Determination of apical tension, fluidity, and intercellular adhesive forces in an epithelial monolayer are currently disruptive. Here the authors present a method using acoustic force microscopy to measure changes in these parameters upon tight junction structural alterations in a MDCK monolayer.

    • Alexander X. Cartagena-Rivera
    • , Christina M. Van Itallie
    •  & Richard S. Chadwick

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Establishment of the outer blood-retina barrier is a hallmark of retinal development but the contribution of choroid endothelial cells (ECs) is not known. Here the authors show in the developing mouse retina that ECs remodel the basement membrane and lead to enhanced barrier function of retinal epithelial cells.

    • Ignacio Benedicto
    • , Guillermo L. Lehmann
    •  & Enrique Rodriguez-Boulan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alcohol abuse is a risk factor for acute respiratory distress syndrome, flooding of the lungs due to compromised barrier function. Here the authors report that alcohol upregulates claudin-5 that is then recruited to tight junctions in alveolar epithelial cells, causing the displacement of claudin-18 from ZO-1 and diminished barrier function.

    • Barbara Schlingmann
    • , Christian E. Overgaard
    •  & Michael Koval

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Epithelial wound closure proceeds through both crawling into the wound and by constricting an actomyosin cable in a so-called purse-string mechanism. Here the authors show that the two mechanisms are mechanically coupled and the curvature of the wound regulates the overall dynamics of wound closure.

    • Andrea Ravasio
    • , Ibrahim Cheddadi
    •  & Benoit Ladoux

  • Article |

    The temporal opening and closing of cell–cell junctions at the blood–testis barrier allows the passage of immature germ cells during spermatogenesis. Su and colleagues identify a peptide fragment of the laminin-γ3 chain that disrupts the blood–testis barrier and reversibly impairs spermatogenesis in rats.

    • Linlin Su
    • , Dolores D. Mruk
    •  & C. Yan Cheng

  • Article |

    Zonal occludens and claudin form tight junctions near the apical surface of cells and are important in polarized epithelia. In this study, the translational regulatory sequence-specific RNA binding protein CPEB is shown to be required for the correct localization of zona occluden 1 mRNA in mammary epithelial cells.

    • Kentaro Nagaoka
    • , Tsuyoshi Udagawa
    •  & Joel D. Richter

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