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First published online January 23, 2008

Journal of Cell Science 121, 305e (2008)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
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In this issue

Tight junctions: pores for thought


Figure 1

Tight junctions act as intercellular glue, providing a seal between epithelial cells that restricts the paracellular movement of molecules. However, the epithelium is permeable to certain solutes, which pass through small pores within tight junctions. Although tight-junction proteins such as the claudins have been implicated in pore formation, little is understood about pore structure or the regulation of transepithelial permeability. On page 298, James Anderson and colleagues describe the size and abundance of small tight-junction pores in five different epithelial cell lines and in pig ileum. By measuring the permeability of epithelia to polyethylene glycol oligomers of diverse sizes, the authors show that the pore size (4 Å radius) is similar for all the tested cell lines, but that the abundance of pores – and their apparent density within junctions – differs widely. Moreover, pore size is unaffected by overexpressing claudin-2, although pore number is increased. These results suggest that epithelial permeability – for small uncharged solutes at least – may be predominantly regulated by the abundance of small tight-junction pores.


Related articles in JCS:

The density of small tight junction pores varies among cell types and is increased by expression of claudin-2
Christina M. Van Itallie, Jennifer Holmes, Arlene Bridges, Jody L. Gookin, Maria R. Coccaro, William Proctor, Oscar R. Colegio, and James M. Anderson
JCS 2008 121: 298-305. [Abstract] [Full Text]  




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