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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Cultivating a Three-dimensional Reconstructed Human Epidermis at a Large Scale
Published on: May 28, 2021
Tight junctions in epidermis: from barrier to keratinization
Kazumasa Morita1, Yoshiki Miyachi, Mikio Furuse
1Department of Dermatology, Tenri Hospital, Tenri 632-8552, Japan.
Abstract:
Tight junctions (TJs) are one type of intercellular junction. TJs prevent diffusion of solutes through the intercellular spaces in simple and stratified epithelia. Mice lacking claudin-1 (an adhesion molecule at TJs) show dehydration from the skin by impaired barrier function of epidermal TJs. Meanwhile, a human hereditary disease with ichthyosis (NISCH syndrome) has been found to be a claudin-1-deficient disease. The two models of lacking-claudin-1 indicate that TJs are related not only to the epidermal barrier but also to keratinization. Research of TJs in epidermis is reviewed in view of the barrier to keratinization.
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