title: Regulation of tight junctions in upper airway epithelium.
abstract: The mucosal barrier of the upper respiratory tract including the nasal cavity, which is the first site of exposure to inhaled antigens, plays an important role in host defense in terms of innate immunity and is regulated in large part by tight junctions of epithelial cells. Tight junction molecules are expressed in both M cells and dendritic cells as well as epithelial cells of upper airway. Various antigens are sampled, transported, and released to lymphocytes through the cells in nasal mucosa while they maintain the integrity of the barrier. Expression of tight junction molecules and the barrier function in normal human nasal epithelial cells (HNECs) are affected by various stimuli including growth factor, TLR ligand, and cytokine. In addition, epithelial-derived thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), which is a master switch for allergic inflammatory diseases including allergic rhinitis, enhances the barrier function together with an increase of tight junction molecules in HNECs. Furthermore, respiratory syncytial virus infection in HNECs in vitro induces expression of tight junction molecules and the barrier function together with proinflammatory cytokine release. This paper summarizes the recent progress in our understanding of the regulation of tight junctions in the upper airway epithelium under normal, allergic, and RSV-infected conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8556, Japan. ktakashi@sapmed.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Go
authors.forename: Ken-ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurose
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohkuni
authors.forename: Jun-ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.forename: Ryuta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kamekura
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ogasawara
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masaki
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fuchimoto
authors.forename: Kazufumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Obata
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirakawa
authors.forename: Kazuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Keira
authors.forename: Ryou
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miyata
authors.forename: Nobuhiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsutsumi
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Himi
authors.forename: Norimasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sawada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology; D019108:Tight Junctions / Q000502:physiology*; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000276:immunology; D000094632:Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors; D000094632:Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin