The apical junctional complex (AJC) is a membrane protein ultrastructure that regulates cell adhesion and homeostasis. The tight junction (TJ) and the adherens junction (AJ) are substructures of the AJC. The interplay between TJ and AJ membrane proteins to assemble the AJC remains unclear. We employed synthetic biology strategies to express the basic membrane elements of a simple AJC-the adhesive extracellular domains of junctional adhesion molecule A (JAM-A), epithelial cadherin, claudin 1, and occludin-to study their interactions. Our results suggest that calcium concentration fluctuations and JAM-A, acting as an interface molecule between the TJ and AJ, orchestrate their interplay. Calcium affects the secondary structure, oligomerization, and binding affinity of homotypic and heterotypic interactions of TJ and AJ components, thus acting as a molecular switch influencing AJC dynamics.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.14252 | DOI Listing |
Front Pharmacol
January 2025
Heat Stroke Treatment and Research Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Sanya, China.
Exertional heat stroke (EHS) is a life-threatening condition characterized by hyperthermia and multi-organ dysfunction, often associated with intestinal barrier disruption. This study evaluated the protective effects of Huoxiang Zhengqi Dropping Pills (HXZQD) against EHS in a rat model. HXZQD was administered via oral gavage at low, medium, and high doses, followed by EHS induction through exercise under high-temperature and high-humidity conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Pharmacol
January 2025
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zunyi Medical University, Zhuhai, China.
Background: Oxyberberine (OBB) is a naturally occurring isoquinoline alkaloid that is believed to possess various health-promoting properties, including anti-fungus, hepatoprotection, anti-inflammation, and anti-intestinal mucositis effects. Despite several studies reporting the health benefits of OBB in treating ulcerative colitis (UC), its specific mechanism of action has yet to be fully elucidated.
Purpose: This investigation is designed to explore the potential protective efficacy of OBB and the latent mechanism using an model of UC-like inflammatory intestinal cells.
Front Pharmacol
January 2025
School of Pharmacy, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumchi, China.
Background: In the Kazakh community of Xinjiang, China, fermented camel milk has been traditionally used to manage diabetes. This study evaluates the effects of composite probiotics derived from fermented camel milk (CPCM) on metabolic disturbances in a rat model of Type 2 diabetes (T2DM).
Methods: T2DM was induced in Wistar rats using streptozotocin.
Front Pharmacol
January 2025
Department of Pharmacy, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanbian University, Yanji, China.
Introduction: Despite evidence of the efficacy of decursinol angelate (DA), a prescription medication derived farom traditional Chinese medicine, in alleviating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the precise mechanisms behind its action remain unclear.
Methods: Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) induction were used as and models of IBD, respectively, to assess the role of DA in alleviating IBD. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in mouse serum, Western blot was performed to detect the expression of TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway tight junction (TJ) proteins in colon tissues and cells, and immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR were used to validate the proteins related to this signaling pathway.
Front Immunol
January 2025
Institute of Medical Genetics and Reproductive Immunity, School of Medical Science and Laboratory Medicine, Jiangsu College of Nursing, Huai'an, China.
The intestinal epithelium, beyond its role in absorption and digestion, serves as a critical protective mechanical barrier that delineates the luminal contents and the gut microbiota from the lamina propria within resident mucosal immune cells to maintain intestinal homeostasis. The barrier is manifested as a contiguous monolayer of specialized intestinal epithelial cells (IEC), interconnected through tight junctions (TJs). The integrity of this epithelial barrier is of paramount.
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