IPR002958
Occludin
InterPro entry
Short name | Occludin |
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
biological process
molecular function
- None
cellular component
Contributing Member Database Entries
- PRINTS:PR01258
- PIRSF:PIRSF005993