Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 19, 2025

Functional Assessment of Intestinal Tight Junction Barrier and Ion Permeability in Native Tissue by Ussing Chamber Technique
Published on: May 26, 2021
Endocytosis of Intestinal Tight Junction Proteins: In Time and Space
1Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Penn State University, Hershey, PA, USA.
Abstract:
Eukaryotic cells take up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding milieu and also internalize membrane proteins via a precise process of endocytosis. The role of endocytosis in diverse physiological processes such as cell adhesion, cell signaling, tissue remodeling, and healing is well recognized. The epithelial tight junctions (TJs), present at the apical lateral membrane, play a key role in cell adhesion and regulation of paracellular pathway. These vital functions of the TJ are achieved through the dynamic regulation of the presence of pore and barrier-forming proteins within the TJ complex on the plasma membrane. In response to various intracellular and extracellular clues, the TJ complexes are actively regulated by intracellular trafficking. The intracellular trafficking consists of endocytosis and recycling cargos to the plasma membrane or targeting them to the lysosomes for degradation. Increased intestinal TJ permeability is a pathological factor in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and the TJ permeability could be increased due to the altered endocytosis or recycling of TJ proteins. This review discusses the current information on endocytosis of intestinal epithelial TJ proteins. The knowledge of the endocytic regulation of the epithelial TJ barrier will provide further understanding of pathogenesis and potential targets for IBD and a wide variety of human disease conditions.
Related Concept Videos
Tight Junctions
Absorption of Nutrients
Enterocytes, which are specialized polar epithelial cells, line the mucosa of the small intestinal walls. These cells...
Transcellular Transport of Solutes
Adherens Junctions
Adherens Junctions are Dynamic
Protein Transport into the Inner Mitochondrial Membrane
Transport of mitochondrial precursors across the TIM23 channel is driven by...
Protein Translocation Machinery on the ER Membrane
Sec61 protein conducting channel
In eukaryotes, the translocon complex comprises a core heterotrimeric translocator channel called the Sec61 complex. This channel includes three transmembrane proteins, Sec61α, Sec61β, and Sec61γ, and is the largest subunit of the...

