KAMILA CZUBAK-PROWIZOR^*, MARIA SWIATKOWSKA

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.4, pp. 731-737, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025677

Abstract Junctional adhesion molecule-A (JAM-A), also known as the F11 receptor (F11R), is one of the tight junction components. JAM-A is a transmembrane glycoprotein that regulates many cellular processes, i.e., angiogenesis, leukocyte transendothelial migration, intercellular permeability, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and platelet activation. Of note, it is involved in the pathogenesis of various cancer types, including gynecological cancers. Only a few studies are available about this cancer type. Observed aberrant JAM-A expression in gynecological cancers correlates with poor patient prognosis. To the best of our knowledge, conflicting JAM-A roles in various cancer types suggest that its involvement is complex and tumor-type specific. The… More >

YUEHUA SHI^1,#, QIUYING YAN^2,#, QIN LI³, WEI QIAN¹, DONGYAN QIAO¹, DONGDONG SUN², HONG YU^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.1, pp. 165-173, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.023043

Abstract The placenta plays an important role in nutrient transport to maintain the growth and development of the embryo. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), the most common complication during pregnancy, highly affects placental function in late gestation. Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), a complex and heterogeneous group of compounds engaged by the receptor for AGEs (RAGE), are closely associated with diabetes-related complications. In this study, AGEs induced a decrease in the expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins in BeWo cells and increased the paracellular permeability of trophoblast cells by regulating RAGE/NF-κB. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats injected with 100 mg/kg AGEs-rat serum albumin (RSA) via… More >

LORENZO ALIBARDI¹, BERND NOECKER²

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.4, pp. 1013-1022, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.013913

Abstract The differentiation of cells composing mature human hairs produces layers with different corneous characteristics that would tend to flake away one from another, as in the corneous layer of the epidermis, without anchoring junctions. It is likely that cell junctions established in the forming cells of the hair bulb are not completely degraded like in the corneous layer of the epidermis but instead remain in the hair shaft to bind mature cuticle, cortex, and medulla cells into a compact hair shaft. During cell differentiation in hairs, cell junctions seem to disappear, and little is known about the fate of junctional… More >

Yang Wang¹, Shuang Ge¹, Junyang Huang¹, Ruolin Du¹, Tieying Yin¹, Guixue Wang^1,*, Yazhou Wang^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 140-141, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07300

Abstract Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) is a peripheral membrane protein belongs to the family of zona occludens proteins and plays an important role as a scaffold protein which cross-links and anchors tight junction (TJ) strand proteins, within the lipid bilayer, to the actin cytoskeleton^[1-2]. Stent implantation is the most effective method in the treatment of cardiovascular disease which always destroy junctions of endothelial cells, the functions of the tight junction were also affected. However, the role of ZO-1 before and after stent implantation has not been fully understood. In this study, the expression of ZO-1 were analyzed by qPCR, western blot and… More >

Junyang Huang¹, Shuang Ge¹, Yang Wang¹, Ruolin Du¹, Yazhou Wang¹, Tieying Yin¹, Guixue Wang^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 138-139, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07305

Abstract Tight junctions are the most apical intercellular junctions of the lateral membrane in endothelial cells, regulating the paracellular material and energy exchange and maintain plasma membrane polarity. Occludin protein is one of the important proteins involved in endothelial tight junctions, and also closely related to the occurrence of atherosclerosis. Therefore, the study of occludin is valuable ^[1]. With the implantation of coronary stents, the integrity of the vascular endothelium is damaged and the local mechanical environment at the stent segment was changed ^[2]. The present study tried to explore the impact of mechanical stimulation after stent implantation on the expression… More >

S.R.K. Vedula¹, T.S. Lim², P.J. Kausalya³, W. Hunziker³, G. Rajagopal², C.T. Lim^1,4

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 105-124, 2005, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2005.002.105

Abstract Cell-cell adhesion is an extremely important phenomenon as it influences several biologically important processes such as inflammation, cell migration, proliferation, differentiation and even cancer metastasis. Furthermore, proteins involved in cell-cell adhesion are also important from the perspective of facilitating better drug delivery across epithelia. The adhesion forces imparted by proteins involved in cell-cell adhesion have been the focus of research for sometime. However, with the advent of nanotechnological techniques such as the atomic force microscopy (AFM), we can now quantitatively probe these adhesion forces not only at the cellular but also molecular level. Here, we review the structure and function… More >