EpCAM proteolysis and release of complexed claudin-7 repair and maintain the tight junction barrier

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  • Tomohito Higashi
    Department of Basic Pathology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan 1
  • Akira C. Saito
    Department of Basic Pathology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan 1
  • Yugo Fukazawa
    Division of Brain Structure and Function, Faculty of Medical Science, Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan 2
  • Mikio Furuse
    Division of Cell Structure, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan 3
  • Atsuko Y. Higashi
    Department of Basic Pathology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan 1
  • Masahiro Ono
    Department of Basic Pathology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan 1
  • Hideki Chiba
    Department of Basic Pathology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan 1

Description

<jats:p>TJs maintain the epithelial barrier by regulating paracellular permeability. Since TJs are under dynamically fluctuating intercellular tension, cells must continuously survey and repair any damage. However, the underlying mechanisms allowing cells to sense TJ damage and repair the barrier are not yet fully understood. Here, we showed that proteinases play an important role in the maintenance of the epithelial barrier. At TJ break sites, EpCAM–claudin-7 complexes on the basolateral membrane become accessible to apical membrane-anchored serine proteinases (MASPs) and the MASPs cleave EpCAM. Biochemical data and imaging analysis suggest that claudin-7 released from EpCAM contributes to the rapid repair of damaged TJs. Knockout (KO) of MASPs drastically reduced barrier function and live-imaging of TJ permeability showed that MASPs-KO cells exhibited increased size, duration, and frequency of leaks. Together, our results reveal a novel mechanism of TJ maintenance through the localized proteolysis of EpCAM at TJ leaks, and provide a better understanding of the dynamic regulation of epithelial permeability.</jats:p>

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