9.6.16 Lecture Flashcards
What are the two main ways animal cells are bound together?
Connective tissue and epithelial tissue
Compare epithelial tissue and connective tissue (4 major categories).
- Epithelial - scanty ECM, Connective - plentiful ECM
- Epithelial - many cells, Connective - sparse cell distribution
- Epithelial - cells tightly bound together in sheets, Connective - matrix rich in fibrous polymers
- Epithelial - cells bear most of mechanical stress through junctional complexes attached to the cytoskeleton, Connective - matrix bears mechanical stress
Long-term connections between cells require complex ___.
Cell junctions
What are the 4 major types of connections between cells? Briefly describe their function.
- Anchoring junctions - link cells to cells (via TM cadherins) or cells to matrices (via TM integrins)
- Occluding/tight junctions - seal gaps between epithelial cells (involve claudins)
- Channel-forming junctions - form passageways for small molecules and ions to pass from cell to cell (involve connexins)
- Signal-relaying junctions - complex structures that typically involve anchorage proteins alongside proteins mediating signal transduction.
What are the three functions of occluding/tight junctions?
- Seal cells together to create a permeability barrier
- Regulate paracellular transport
- Fence function that separates the apical and basolateral membrane domains, keeping membrane proteins and lipids in the appropriate domains
Provide 3 examples of the use of occluding junctions to seal cells together.
- Intestinal epithelium use occluding junctions for transcellular glucose transport.
- Endothelial cells use occluding junctions to prevent plasma leakage from the blood vessels
- Brain endothelial cells use occluding junctions to form the blood-brain barrier.
What is paracellular transport?
Leakage of materials between cells (rather than through cells)
Describe the general process of transcellular glucose transport.
The apical surface of the cell (lumen of the gut) has a high glucose concentration. The sodium/glucose symporter transports glucose into the cell, which also has a high glucose concentration. Then, the glucose flows out of the cell into the blood on the basolateral surface, down its concentration gradient.
What is the main occluding protein and how many membrane passes does it make?
Claudin; 4
What are the 2 functions of anchoring junctions?
- Stabilize cells against mechanical stress/transmit force
2. Mechanically attach cells and their cytoskeletons to their neighbors or to the ECM.
What are the 2 broad categories of anchoring junctions?
- Cell-cell
2. Cell-matrix
What are the 2 types of cell-cell anchoring junctions?
- Adherins junctions
2. Desmosomes
What are the 2 types of cell-matrix anchoring junctions?
- Focal contacts (actin-linked cell-matrix junctions)
2. Hemidesmosomes
What is the adhesion protein of adherens junctions? What extracellular ligand to these bind to? Finally, what is the intracellular cytoskeletal attachment?
Adhesion protein: classical cadherin
Extracellular ligand: classical cadherin on neighboring cell
Intracellular cytoskeletal attachment: actin
What is the adhesion protein of desmosomes? What extracellular ligand to these bind to? Finally, what is the intracellular cytoskeletal attachment?
Adhesion protein: non-classical cadherin
Extracellular ligand: non-classical cadherin on neighboring cell
Intracellular cytoskeletal attachment: intermediate filament
What is the adhesion protein of focal contacts? What extracellular ligand to these bind to? Finally, what is the intracellular cytoskeletal attachment?
Adhesion protein: integrin
Extracellular ligand: extracellular matrix proteins
Intracellular cytoskeletal attachment: actin
What are the adhesion proteins of hemidesmosome? What extracellular ligand to these bind to? Finally, what is the intracellular cytoskeletal attachment?
Adhesion proteins: alpha6beta4 integrin, type XVII collagen
Extracellular ligand: extracellular matrix proteins
Intracellular cytoskeletal attachment: intermediate filament
Adherens junctions form an adhesive belt just below ___ junctions.
Tight
Adherens junctions join an ___ bundle in one cell to that of another cell.
Actin
What are cadherins?
Calcium-dependent TM adhesion molecules that mediate homotypic adhesion; they are dimers.
What is the adaptor/anchor protein for cadherins and what do they do?
Catenins; connect cadherins to actin
Desmosomes form ___ that anchor cells together via intermediate filaments.
Spot welds
What are the two types of desmosomal cadherins?
Desmogleins and desmocollins
Desmosomal cadherins mediate cell-cell ___ adhesion.
Homotypic
What are the adaptor/anchor proteins connecting desmosomal cadherins to the intermediate filaments?
Plakoglobin and desmoplakin
What is pemphigus?
An autoimmune disease where auto-antibodies against desmosomal cadherins cause loss of cell-cell adhesion and blistering.
What are tonofilaments?
Bundles of cytokeratin intermediate filaments
What do focal contacts/focal adhesions do?
Link ECM to actin filaments so that cells can “hang on” to their surroundings
What are integrins?
TM ECM-binding proteins that bind to actin indirectly via adaptor/anchor proteins
What are the adaptor/anchor proteins of integrins and what do they do?
Alpha-actinin, talin, filamin; link integrins to actin
Describe the structure of integrins.
Formed of an alpha and beta subunit; the beta chain is link to the actin, both alpha and beta chains are linked to the ECM protein.
What do hemidesmosomes do?
Distribute sheer forces on an epithelium to the basal lamina
What are the transmembrane proteins that bind and mediate basal lamina adhesion?
Integrins
Calcium binds ___ repeats in the extracellular domain hinge regions to stabilize the structure.
Cadherin
Cadherins are ___ pass transmembrane proteins.
Single