Leading article
Intestinal zonulin: open sesame!
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Introduction |
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The paracellular route is the dominant pathway for passive
solute flow across the intestinal epithelial barrier, and its
permeability depends on the regulation of intercellular tight junctions
(TJs), also known as the zonula occludens. As a barrier between apical and basolateral compartments, TJs selectively control the passive diffusion of ions and small water soluble solutes from the intestinal lumen to the bloodstream through the paracellular pathway, thereby counterregulating any gradients generated by transcellular
pathways.1 Variations in transepithelial conductance can
usually be attributed to changes in the permeability of the
paracellular pathway as the resistance of the plasma membrane of the
cell is relatively high.2 The TJ represents the major
barrier within this paracellular pathway and the electrical resistance
of the intestinal mucosa seems to depend on the number of transmembrane
protein strands and their complexity within the TJ, as observed by
freeze fracture electron microscopy. A century ago, TJs
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