title: Changes in tight junctional resistance of the cervical epithelium are associated with modulation of content and phosphorylation of occludin 65-kilodalton and 50-kilodalton forms.
abstract: Treatment of human cervical epithelial CaSki cells with ATP or with the diacylglyceride sn-1,2-dioctanoyl diglyceride (diC8) induced a staurosporine-sensitive transient increase, followed by a late decrease, in tight-junctional resistance (R(TJ)). CaSki cells express two immunoreactive forms of occludin, 65 and 50 kDa. Treatments with ATP and diC8 decreased the density of the 65-kDa form and increased the density of the 50-kDa form. ATP also decreased threonine phosphorylation of the 65-kDa form and increased threonine phosphorylation of the 50-kDa form and tyrosine phosphorylation of the 65- and 50-kDa forms. Staurosporine decreased acutely threonine and tyrosine phosphorylation of the two isoforms and in cells pretreated with staurosporine ATP increased acutely the density of the 65-kDa form and threonine phosphorylation of the 65-kDa form. Treatment with N-acetyl-leucinyl-leucinyl-norleucinal increased the densities of the 65- and 50-kDa forms. Pretreatment with N-acetyl-leucinyl-leucinyl-norleucinal attenuated the late decreases in R(TJ) induced by ATP and diC8 and the decrease in the 65-kDa and increase in the 50-kDa forms induced by ATP. Correlation analyses showed that high levels of R(TJ) correlated with the 65-kDa form, whereas low levels of R(TJ) correlated negatively with the 65-kDa form and positively with the 50-kDa form. The results suggest that in CaSki cells 1) occludin determines gating of the tight junctions, 2) changes in occludin phosphorylation status and composition regulate the R(TJ), 3) protein kinase-C-mediated, threonine dephosphorylation of the 65-kDa occludin form increases the resistance of assembled tight junctions, 4) the early stage of tight junction disassembly involves calpain-mediated breakdown of occludin 65-kDa form to the 50-kDa form, and 5) increased levels of the 50-kDa form interfere with occludin gating of the tight junctions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: George I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Gorodeski
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000502:physiology*; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D062793:Occludin; D010766:Phosphorylation; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational / Q000502:physiology; D019108:Tight Junctions / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; C568985:OCLN protein, human; D062793:Occludin; D020033:Protein Isoforms