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Structural and Functional Regulation of Tight Junctions by RhoA and Rac1 Small GTPases
Open accessAbstract
Tight junctions (TJ) govern ion and solute diffusion through the paracellular space (gate function), and restrict mixing of membrane proteins and lipids between membrane domains (fence function) of polarized epithelial cells. We examined roles of the RhoA and Rac1 GTPases in regulating TJ structure and function in MDCK cells using the tetracycline repressible transactivator to regulate RhoAV14, RhoAN19, Rac1V12, and Rac1N17 expression. Both constitutively active and dominant negative RhoA or Rac1 perturbed TJ gate function (transepithelial electrical resistance, tracer diffusion) in a dose-dependent and reversible manner. Freeze-fracture EM and immunofluoresence microscopy revealed abnormal TJ strand morphology and protein (occludin, ZO-1) localization in RhoAV14 and Rac1V12 cells. However, TJ strand morphology and protein localization appeared normal in RhoAN19 and Rac1N17 cells. All mutant GTPases disrupted the fence function of the TJ (interdomain diffusion of a fluorescent lipid), but targeting and organization of a membrane protein in the apical membrane were unaffected. Expression levels and protein complexes of occludin and ZO-1 appeared normal in all mutant cells, although ZO-1 was more readily solubilized from RhoAV14-expressing cells with Triton X-100. These results show that RhoA and Rac1 regulate gate and fence functions of the TJ, and play a role in the spatial organization of TJ proteins at the apex of the lateral membrane.
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![Figure 2 RhoA and Rac1 mutants disrupt TJ barrier to paracellular diffusion of [3H]inulin, FITC-conjugated 3K dextran, and Texas Red–conjugated 40K dextran. Control MDCK cells (T23), mock-transfected MDCK cells (pUHD), and cells expressing RhoAV14, RhoAN19, Rac1V12, or Rac1N17 under the control of the tetracycline repressible transactivator, were cultured with 20 ng/ml DC or without DC at low cell density. Cells were trypsinized and plated on Transwell™ filters at an instant confluent monolayer density in LCM (± DC) for 4 h, and were then switched to normal DMEM/FBS (± DC). 16 h later, paracellular tracer diffusion was measured in four parallel cultures for each cell line ± DC as described in Materials and Methods; the data are shown as the mean ± SEM.](/paper-figures/4e1ba614c3b440b5a05cbcc777ae6488/structural-and-functional-regulation-of-tight-junctions-by-rhoa-and-rac1-small-figure-2.jpg)










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“In addition, Rac activity has been implicated in the regulation of tight junction gate and fence function (Jou et al, 1998).”
From E‐cadherin is essential for in vivo epidermal barrier function by regulating tight junctions (2005) · cites this paper as Jou et al, 1998
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Metadata
- Authors
- Jou, T.-S., Schneeberger, E. E., & James Nelson, W.
- Affiliations
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- *Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5345; ‡Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
- ORCID
- Jou, Tzuu-Shuh
- Venue
- The Journal of Cell Biology
- Publisher
- Rockefeller University Press
- Published
- 1998-07-13
- Volume
- 142
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 101-115
- ISSN
- 0021-9525 (ISSN-L)
- 1540-8140
- PMC
- PMC2133025
- OpenAlex
- W2046587126
- Cited by
- 354
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 16.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-sa
- Locations
- The Journal of Cell Biology (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Barrier Structure and Function Studies
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Kinase Regulation and GTPase Signaling
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Immunology and Allergy › Cell Adhesion Molecules Research
- Keywords
- tight junctions, RhoA, Rac1, small GTPases, paracellular permeability, occludin, ZO-1, MDCK cells, epithelial polarity, transepithelial electrical resistance, membrane protein targeting, membrane lateral organization
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Cell Line, Cell Membrane, Detergents, Dogs, Epithelial Cells, Membrane Proteins, Phosphoproteins, Solubility, Mutagenesis, Octoxynol, Tight Junctions, GTP-Binding Proteins, GTP Phosphohydrolases, rhoA GTP-Binding Protein, rac GTP-Binding Proteins, Occludin, Zonula Occludens-1 Protein, Zonula Occludens-2 Protein
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