Particulate matter air pollution disrupts endothelial cell barrier via calpain-mediated tight junction protein degradation

TRP channels are the vanguard of our sensory systems, responding to temperature, touch, pain, osmolarity, pheromones, taste and other stimuli. But their role is much broader than classical sensory transduction. They are an ancient sensory apparatus for the cell, not just the multicellular organism, and they have been adapted to respond to all manner of stimuli, from both within and outside the cell.

ZO-1, ZO-2, and ZO-3, which contain three PDZ domains (PDZ1 to -3), are concentrated at tight junctions (TJs) in epithelial cells. TJ strands are mainly composed of two distinct types of four-transmembrane proteins, occludin, and claudins, between which occludin was reported to directly bind to ZO-1/ZO-2/ZO-3. However, in occludin-deficient intestinal epithelial cells, ZO-1/ZO-2/ZO-3 were still recruited to TJs. We then examined the possible interactions between ZO-1/ZO-2/ZO-3 and claudins. ZO-1, ZO-2, and ZO-3 bound to the COOH-terminal YV sequence of claudin-1 to -8 through their PDZ1 domains in vitro. Then, claudin-1 or -2 was transfected into L fibroblasts, which express ZO-1 but not ZO-2 or ZO-3. Claudin-1 and -2 were concentrated at cell–cell borders in an elaborate network pattern, to which endogenous ZO-1 was recruited. When ZO-2 or ZO-3 were further transfected, both were recruited to the claudin-based networks together with endogenous ZO-1. Detailed analyses showed that ZO-2 and ZO-3 are recruited to the claudin-based networks through PDZ2 (ZO-2 or ZO-3)/PDZ2 (endogenous ZO-1) and PDZ1 (ZO-2 or ZO-3)/COOH-terminal YV (claudins) interactions. In good agreement, PDZ1 and PDZ2 domains of ZO-1/ZO-2/ZO-3 were also recruited to claudin-based TJs, when introduced into cultured epithelial cells. The possible molecular architecture of TJ plaque structures is discussed.

Substances released by platelets during blood clotting are essential participants in events that link hemostasis and angiogenesis and ensure adequate wound healing and tissue injury repair. We assessed the participation of sphingosine 1-phosphate (Sph-1-P), a biologically active phosphorylated lipid growth factor released from activated platelets, in the regulation of endothelial monolayer barrier integrity, which is key to both angiogenesis and vascular homeostasis. Sph-1-P produced rapid, sustained, and dose-dependent increases in transmonolayer electrical resistance (TER) across both human and bovine pulmonary artery and lung microvascular endothelial cells. This substance also reversed barrier dysfunction elicited by the edemagenic agent thrombin. Sph-1-P-mediated barrier enhancement was dependent upon G(ialpha)-receptor coupling to specific members of the endothelial differentiation gene (Edg) family of receptors (Edg-1 and Edg-3), Rho kinase and tyrosine kinase-dependent activation, and actin filament rearrangement. Sph-1-P-enhanced TER occurred in conjunction with Rac GTPase- and p21-associated kinase-dependent endothelial cortical actin assembly with recruitment of the actin filament regulatory protein, cofilin. Platelet-released Sph-1-P, linked to Rac- and Rho-dependent cytoskeletal rearrangement, may act late in angiogenesis to stabilize newly formed vessels, which often display abnormally increased vascular permeability.