scholarly journals miR-27a-3p regulates expression of intercellular junctions at the brain endothelium and controls the endothelial barrier permeability

PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0262152
Author(s):  
Rania Harati ◽  
Saba Hammad ◽  
Abdelaziz Tlili ◽  
Mona Mahfood ◽  
Aloïse Mabondzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tight Junction ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Adherens Junctions ◽  
Paracellular Permeability ◽  
Endothelial Barrier ◽  
Brain Endothelium ◽  
Barrier Permeability ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Endothelial Junctions ◽  
The Brain

Background The brain endothelial barrier permeability is governed by tight and adherens junction protein complexes that restrict paracellular permeability at the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Dysfunction of the inter-endothelial junctions has been implicated in neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. The molecular mechanisms underlying junctional dysfunction during BBB impairment remain elusive. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as versatile regulators of the BBB function under physiological and pathological conditions, and altered levels of BBB-associated microRNAs were demonstrated in a number of brain pathologies including neurodegeneration and neuroinflammatory diseases. Among the altered micro-RNAs, miR-27a-3p was found to be downregulated in a number of neurological diseases characterized by loss of inter-endothelial junctions and disruption of the barrier integrity. However, the relationship between miR-27a-3p and tight and adherens junctions at the brain endothelium remains unexplored. Whether miR-27a-3p is involved in regulation of the junctions at the brain endothelium remains to be determined. Methods Using a gain-and-loss of function approach, we modulated levels of miR-27a-3p in an in-vitro model of the brain endothelium, key component of the BBB, and examined the resultant effect on the barrier paracellular permeability and on the expression of essential tight and adherens junctions. The mechanisms governing the regulation of junctional proteins by miR-27a-3p were also explored. Results Our results showed that miR-27a-3p inhibitor increases the barrier permeability and causes reduction of claudin-5 and occludin, two proteins highly enriched at the tight junction, while miR-27a-3p mimic reduced the paracellular leakage and increased claudin-5 and occludin protein levels. Interestingly, we found that miR-27-3p induces expression of claudin-5 and occludin by downregulating Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta (GSK3ß) and activating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, a key pathway required for the BBB maintenance. Conclusion For the first time, we showed that miR-27a-3p is a positive regulator of key tight junction proteins, claudin-5 and occludin, at the brain endothelium through targeting GSK3ß gene and activating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling. Thus, miR-27a-3p may constitute a novel therapeutic target that could be exploited to prevent BBB dysfunction and preserves its integrity in neurological disorders characterized by impairment of the barrier’s function.

scholarly journals ZO-1 controls endothelial adherens junctions, cell–cell tension, angiogenesis, and barrier formation

2015 ◽  
Vol 208 (6) ◽  
pp. 821-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Tornavaca ◽  
Minghao Chia ◽  
Neil Dufton ◽  
Lourdes Osuna Almagro ◽  
Daniel E. Conway ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tight Junction ◽  
Adherens Junctions ◽  
Intercellular Junctions ◽  
Barrier Formation ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Endothelial Junctions ◽  
Tight Junction Disruption ◽  
Cell Cell

Intercellular junctions are crucial for mechanotransduction, but whether tight junctions contribute to the regulation of cell–cell tension and adherens junctions is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the tight junction protein ZO-1 regulates tension acting on VE-cadherin–based adherens junctions, cell migration, and barrier formation of primary endothelial cells, as well as angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. ZO-1 depletion led to tight junction disruption, redistribution of active myosin II from junctions to stress fibers, reduced tension on VE-cadherin and loss of junctional mechanotransducers such as vinculin and PAK2, and induced vinculin dissociation from the α-catenin–VE-cadherin complex. Claudin-5 depletion only mimicked ZO-1 effects on barrier formation, whereas the effects on mechanotransducers were rescued by inhibition of ROCK and phenocopied by JAM-A, JACOP, or p114RhoGEF down-regulation. ZO-1 was required for junctional recruitment of JACOP, which, in turn, recruited p114RhoGEF. ZO-1 is thus a central regulator of VE-cadherin–dependent endothelial junctions that orchestrates the spatial actomyosin organization, tuning cell–cell tension, migration, angiogenesis, and barrier formation.

scholarly journals Tight and Adherens Junctions in the Ovine Uterus: Differential Regulation by Pregnancy and Progesterone

Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (8) ◽  
pp. 3922-3931 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Carey Satterfield ◽  
Kathrin A. Dunlap ◽  
Kanako Hayashi ◽  
Robert C. Burghardt ◽  
Thomas E. Spencer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tight Junction ◽  
Adherens Junctions ◽  
Luminal Epithelium ◽  
Tissue Fluid ◽  
Tight Junction Formation ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Conceptus Development ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Continuous Presence ◽  
D 12

In species with noninvasive implantation by conceptus trophectoderm, fetal/maternal communications occur across the endometrial epithelia. The present studies identified changes in junctional complexes in the ovine endometrium that regulate paracellular trafficking of water, ions, and other molecules, and the secretory capacity of the uterine epithelia. Distinct temporal and spatial alterations in occludin, tight junction protein 2, and claudin 1–4 proteins were observed in the endometrium of cyclic and early pregnant ewes. Dynamic changes in tight junction formation were characterized by an abundance of tight junction proteins on d 10 of the estrous cycle and pregnancy that substantially decreased by d 12. Early progesterone administration advanced conceptus development on d 9 and 12 that was associated with loss of tight-junction-associated proteins. Pregnancy increased tight-junction-associated proteins between d 14–16. Cadherin 1 and β-catenin, which form adherens junctions, were abundant in the endometrial glands, but decreased after d 10 of pregnancy in the luminal epithelium and then increased by d 16 with the onset of implantation. Results support the ideas that progesterone elicits transient decreases in tight and adherens junctions in the endometrial luminal epithelium between d 10–12 that increases selective serum and tissue fluid transudation to enhance blastocyst elongation, which is subsequently followed by an increase in tight and adherens junctions between d 14–16 that may be required for attachment and adherence of the trophectoderm for implantation. The continuous presence of tight and adherens junctions in the uterine glands would allow for vectorial secretion of trophic substances required for conceptus elongation and survival.

scholarly journals Clostridium difficile Toxins Disrupt Epithelial Barrier Function by Altering Membrane Microdomain Localization of Tight Junction Proteins

2001 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 1329-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nusrat ◽  
C. von Eichel-Streiber ◽  
J. R. Turner ◽  
P. Verkade ◽  
J. L. Madara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clostridium Difficile ◽  
Tight Junction ◽  
Pseudomembranous Colitis ◽  
Paracellular Permeability ◽  
Etiologic Agent ◽  
Membrane Microdomains ◽  
Epithelial Cell Line ◽  
Rho Proteins ◽  
Membrane Microdomain ◽  
Junction Protein

ABSTRACT The anaerobic bacterium Clostridium difficile is the etiologic agent of pseudomembranous colitis. C. difficiletoxins TcdA and TcdB are UDP-glucosyltransferases that monoglucosylate and thereby inactivate the Rho family of GTPases (W. P. Ciesla, Jr., and D. A. Bobak, J. Biol. Chem. 273:16021–16026, 1998). We utilized purified reference toxins of C. difficile, TcdA-10463 (TcdA) and TcdB-10463 (TcdB), and a model intestinal epithelial cell line to characterize their influence on tight-junction (TJ) organization and hence to analyze the mechanisms by which they contribute to the enhanced paracellular permeability and disease pathophysiology of pseudomembranous colitis. The increase in paracellular permeability induced by TcdA and TcdB was associated with disorganization of apical and basal F-actin. F-actin restructuring was paralleled by dissociation of occludin, ZO-1, and ZO-2 from the lateral TJ membrane without influencing the subjacent adherens junction protein, E-cadherin. In addition, we observed decreased association of actin with the TJ cytoplasmic plaque protein ZO-1. Differential detergent extraction and fractionation in sucrose density gradients revealed TcdB-induced redistribution of occludin and ZO-1 from detergent-insoluble fractions constituting “raft-like” membrane microdomains, suggesting an important role of Rho proteins in maintaining the association of TJ proteins with such microdomains. These toxin-mediated effects on actin and TJ structure provide a mechanism for early events in the pathophysiology of pseudomembranous colitis.

scholarly journals Correlation of occludin protein mobility with paracellular leak pathway permeability in renal epithelia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine Axis ◽  
Alexander L. Kolb ◽  
Robert L. Bacallao ◽  
Kurt Amsler
Keyword(s):  
Tight Junction ◽  
Ischemia Reperfusion Injury ◽  
Mdck Cells ◽  
Ischemia Reperfusion ◽  
Paracellular Permeability ◽  
Tight Junction Protein ◽  
Protein Mobility ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Leak Pathway

ABSTRACTStudies have demonstrated regulation of the epithelial paracellular permeability barrier, the tight junction, by a variety of stimuli. Recent studies have reported a correlation between changes in paracellular permeability, particularly paracellular permeability to large solutes (leak pathway), and mobility of the tight junction protein, occludin, in the plane of the plasma membrane. This had led to the hypothesis that changes in occludin protein mobility are causative for changes in paracellular permeability. Using a renal epithelial cell model system, MDCK, we examined the effect of various manipulations on both leak pathway permeability, monitored as the paracellular movement of a fluorescent molecule (calcein), and occludin protein mobility, monitored through fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. Our results indicate that knockdown of the associated tight junction protein, ZO-1, increases baseline leak pathway permeability, whereas, knockdown of the related tight junction protein, ZO-2, does not alter baseline leak pathway permeability. Knockdown of either ZO-1 or ZO-2 decreases the rate of movement of occludin protein but only knockdown of ZO-2 protein alters the percent of occludin protein that is mobile. Further, treatment with hydrogen peroxide increases leak pathway permeability in wild type MDCK cells and in ZO-2 knockdown MDCK cells but not in ZO-1 knockdown MDCK cells. This treatment decreases the rate of occludin movement in all three cell lines but only alters the mobile fraction of occludin protein in ZO-1 knockdown MDCK cells. Finally, we examined the effect of renal ischemia/reperfusion injury on occludin protein mobility in vivo.Ischemia/reperfusion injury both increased the rate of occludin mobility and increased the fraction of occludin protein that is mobile. These results indicate that, at least in our cell culture and in vivo model systems, there is no consistent correlation between paracellular leak pathway permeability and occludin protein mobility.

scholarly journals Occludin S408 phosphorylation regulates tight junction protein interactions and barrier function

2011 ◽  
Vol 193 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Raleigh ◽  
Devin M. Boe ◽  
Dan Yu ◽  
Christopher R. Weber ◽  
Amanda M. Marchiando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tight Junction ◽  
Dynamic Behavior ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Protein Complex ◽  
Barrier Function ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Paracellular Permeability ◽  
Tight Junction Protein ◽  
Barrier Dysfunction ◽  
Junction Protein

Although the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail of the tight junction protein occludin is heavily phosphorylated, the functional impact of most individual sites is undefined. Here, we show that inhibition of CK2-mediated occludin S408 phosphorylation elevates transepithelial resistance by reducing paracellular cation flux. This regulation requires occludin, claudin-1, claudin-2, and ZO-1. S408 dephosphorylation reduces occludin exchange, but increases exchange of ZO-1, claudin-1, and claudin-2, thereby causing the mobile fractions of these proteins to converge. Claudin-4 exchange is not affected. ZO-1 domains that mediate interactions with occludin and claudins are required for increases in claudin-2 exchange, suggesting assembly of a phosphorylation-sensitive protein complex. Consistent with this, binding of claudin-1 and claudin-2, but not claudin-4, to S408A occludin tail is increased relative to S408D. Finally, CK2 inhibition reversed IL-13–induced, claudin-2–dependent barrier loss. Thus, occludin S408 dephosphorylation regulates paracellular permeability by remodeling tight junction protein dynamic behavior and intermolecular interactions between occludin, ZO-1, and select claudins, and may have therapeutic potential in inflammation-associated barrier dysfunction.

scholarly journals Campylobacter jejuni Serine Protease HtrA Cleaves the Tight Junction Component Claudin-8

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irshad Sharafutdinov ◽  
Delara Soltan Esmaeili ◽  
Aileen Harrer ◽  
Nicole Tegtmeyer ◽  
Heinrich Sticht ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tight Junction ◽  
Serine Protease ◽  
Campylobacter Jejuni ◽  
Adherens Junctions ◽  
Present Report ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Cell Junctions ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Carboxy Terminal

Campylobacter jejuni express the high temperature requirement protein A (HtrA), a secreted serine protease, which is implicated in virulence properties of the pathogen. Previous studies have shown that C. jejuni HtrA can cleave the epithelial transmembrane proteins occludin and E-cadherin in the tight and adherens junctions, respectively. In the present report, we studied the interaction of HtrA with another human tight junction protein, claudin-8. Confocal immunofluorescence experiments have shown that C. jejuni infection of the intestinal polarized epithelial cells in vitro leads to a relocation of claudin-8. Wild-type C. jejuni induced the downregulation of claudin-8 signals in the tight junctions and an accumulation of claudin-8 agglomerates in the cytoplasm, which were not seen during infection with isogenic ΔhtrA knockout deletion or protease-inactive S197A point mutants. Western blotting of protein samples from infected vs. uninfected cells revealed that an 18-kDa carboxy-terminal fragment is cleaved-off from the 26-kDa full-length claudin-8 protein, but not during infection with the isogenic ΔhtrA mutant. These results were confirmed by in vitro cleavage assays using the purified recombinant C. jejuni HtrA and human claudin-8 proteins. Recombinant HtrA cleaved purified claudin-8 in vitro giving rise to the same 18-kDa sized carboxy-terminal cleavage product. Mapping studies revealed that HtrA cleavage occurs in the first extracellular loop of claudin-8. Three-dimensional modeling of the claudin-8 structure identified an exposed HtrA cleavage site between the amino acids alanine 58 and asparagine 59, which is in well agreement with the mapping studies. Taken together, HtrA operates as a secreted virulence factor targeting multiple proteins both in the tight and adherens junctions. This strategy may help the bacteria to open the cell-to-cell junctions, and to transmigrate across the intestinal epithelium by a paracellular mechanism and establish an acute infection.

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