Journal
TISSUE BARRIERS
Volume 1, Issue 5, Pages -Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS AS
DOI: 10.4161/tisb.26938
Keywords
Rho; Rac; cdc42; Ras; Rap; Arf; inflammatory bowel disease; colitis; tight junction; adherens junction; actin cytoskeleton
Categories
Funding
- Mexican Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT) [179895]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The intestinal epithelium forms a stable barrier protecting underlying tissues from pathogens in the gut lumen. This is achieved by specialized integral membrane structures such as tight and adherens junctions that connect neighboring cells and provide stabilizing links to the cytoskeleton. Junctions are constantly remodeled to respond to extracellular stimuli. Assembly and disassembly of junctions is regulated by interplay of actin remodeling, endocytotic recycling of junctional proteins, and various signaling pathways. Accumulating evidence implicate small G proteins of the Ras superfamily as important signaling molecules for the regulation of epithelial junctions. They function as molecular switches circling between an inactive GDP-bound and an active GTP-bound state. Once activated, they bind different effector molecules to control cellular processes required for correct junction assembly, maintenance and remodelling. Here, we review recent advances in understanding how GTPases of the Rho, Ras, Rab and Arf families contribute to intestinal epithelial homeostasis.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available