HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Review

Expression of tricellulin in epithelial cells and non-epithelial cells

Takashi Kojima1, Takafumi Ninomiya2, Takumi Konno1, Takayuki Kohno1, Masahiko Taniguchi1 and Norimasa Sawada3

1Department of Cell Science, Research Institute of Frontier Medicine and Departments of 2Anatomy and 3Pathology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.

Offprint requests to: Takashi Kojima, Ph.D., Department of Cell Science, Research Institute of Frontier Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan, S1. W17. Sapporo 060-8556, Japan. e-mail: ktakashi@sapmed.ac.jp


Summary. Tricellulin is the first molecular component of tricellular tight junctions at tricellular contacts where three epithelial cells meet, and it is required for the their formation and maintenance of the epithelial barrier. Tricellulin binds other tight junction proteins, and its expression and distribution are affected by the bicellular tight junction protein occludin and lipolysis-stimulated lipoprotein receptor (LSR) which is expressed at tricellular contacts. Tricellulin is also detected in endothelial cells, neurons, microglia and astrocytes. Here, we focused tricellulin expression in various types of epithelial cells, nasal epithelial cells, pancreatic duct epithelial cells cells and hepatocytes, and non-epithelial cells, dendritic cells and Schwann cells, compared to expression of the bicellular tight junction protein occludin and LSR, and discuss the regulation and the role of tricellulin in cellular specificity
. Histol Histopathol 28, 1383-1392 (2013)

Key words: Tricellular tight junction, Tricellulin, LSR, Pancreatic duct epithelial cells, Dendritic cells, Schwann cells, Hepatocytes

DOI: 10.14670/HH-28.1383