F
IPR002958

Occludin

InterPro entry
Short nameOccludin
family relationships

Description

Occludin was the first molecular component of the tight junction to be identified. These are specialised membrane domains that form intercellular contacts between epithelial cells and create a regulated barrier to the paracellular movement of water, solutes and immune cells. They also provide a second type of barrier that contributes to cell polarity by restricting the lateral diffusion of lipids and proteins within cell membranes
[1]
. Occludin is an ~65kDa type II integral membrane protein, which has been shown to have four transmembrane (TM) domains, two extracellular loops and cytoplasmic N- and C-termini. The extracellular loops are chemically quite distinctive, particularly the first, which has an unusually high content of tyrosine and glycine residues (~65%) that alternate along the sequence
[1]
. Gene knockout experiments have suggested occludin is an accessory, rather than principal, structural component of tight junctions, since occludin-deficient cells are still able to form tight junctions when cultured in vitro
[2]
.

References

1.Transmembrane proteins in the tight junction barrier. Fanning AS, Mitic LL, Anderson JM. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 10, 1337-45, (1999). View articlePMID: 10361874

2.Occludin and claudins in tight-junction strands: leading or supporting players? Tsukita S, Furuse M. Trends Cell Biol. 9, 268-73, (1999). View articlePMID: 10370242

GO terms

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