Cell polarity and its uses etc Flashcards
What are the 4 different Cell-Cell junctions?
- Tight Junctions
- Adherens Junctions
- Desmosome
- Gap Junction
What are the two cell-matrix junctions?
- Hemidesmosome
- Focal Adhesion
Describe appearance and function of tight junctions
- Branched and ribbon like
- form a barrier against the outside for e.g. water
- There is selective permeability for specific ions etc, which require specific claudins. E.g. Need to take in mg+, so need claudin 16. if not you will get hypomagnesia
What are the main three proteins used in tight junctions?
- Claudins, transmembrane protein, drives formation of tight junctions between cells
- Occludin
- JAM proteins, 4 different ones, belong to immunoglobulin superfamily (contain a motif similar to immunoglobulin), have homotypic interactions.
What transmembrane protein drives the formation of tight junctions?
Claudins
What proteins make up tight junctions?
1) Claudins
- transmembrane protein, drives formation of tight junctions between cells
2) Occludin
- important for stability
3) JAM proteins
- 4 different ones, belong to immunoglobulin superfamily (contain a motif similar to immunoglobulin)
- Heterotypic and homotypic interactions, which is where one jam protein interacts with the same jam protein on the other call (JAM1 - JAM1) Homotypic
- Heterotypic is with a different Jam protein
How is is paracellulasr water flow prevented?
By tight junctions. They act as a fence between the apical and basolateral services.
How is polarity created across intestinal epithelial cells in respect to glucose absorption?
A gradient of glucose, as glucose is co-transported across with sodium.
- Sodium glucose transporter on the apical side
- Passive glucose carrier on the basal side
What is homotypic?
When a protein will only interact with a protein of the same type. i.e E-Cadherins only interacting with E-Cadherins
Describe the components of Adhererns junctions.
Adherens junctions
* Two seperate adhesion complexs:
Cadherins
* Homotypic
* E-cadherin, N-cadherin
* P- cadherins, VE-cadherins
* Interact with actin cyctoskeleton via beta catinin and alpha catinin, but can also do it via vinculin and alpha actinin
Nectin
* Form homotypic and heterotypic interactions
* Link to actin cytoskeleton via afidin
Describe the components of Adhererns junctions.
Adherens junctions
* Two seperate adhesion complexs:
Cadherins
* Homotypic
* E-cadherin, N-cadherin
* P- cadherins, VE-cadherins
* Interact with actin cyctoskeleton via beta catinin and alpha catinin, but can also do it via vinculin and alpha actinin
Nectin
* Form homotypic and heterotypic interactions
* Link to actin cytoskeleton via afidin
Cadherin is a component in Adherins junctions and can cause it adherens junction to form in cells that dont normally express them. What ion does it rely on?
Calcium
Ca2+
In low levels of calcium, the extracellular domains are really flexible. Addition of calcium causes them to homodimerize and form a stiff rod. further addition of calcium above 1mmol causes the homodimers to interact.
What are the two main roles of cadherins?
1) Form adherens junctionss
- expression of cadherins causes these to form
- they form the part that interacts with the actin cyctoskeleton
2) Tissue seperating
- they are useful in cell sorting due to being homotypic
- E-cadherins only associating with E, so distinguish themselves from N-cadherins, also works with high concentration and low concentration.
What is the link between cancer metastasis and cadherins?
Metastasis requires a loss of epithelial integrity.
This is associated with loss of cadherin expression.
What is the purpose and structure of desmosomes?
Desmosomes
* Provide structural integrity
Transmembrane proteins desmoglein and desmocollin attach to complex containing plakogoblin, plakophilin and desmoplakin
What kind of tissue are intermediate filaments found in and why?
Tissues that require to be able to resist high force/tearing.
This is because they have a good structural integrity.
What is the function of Gap junctions?
What are they made up from?
- It allows ions and signalling molecules like cyclic amp, ip3 etc through
- electrical coupling of cells.
- Gap junctions allow neighbouring cells to coordinate/communicate.
- Especially important in places like the heart.
- You can see its importance in the heart by removing connexins, which means the electrical signal cant pass through the myocytes
- is made from 2 connexons, each containing 6 connexins
- pore size is determined by the connexins
What is an easy way of determining pore size?
Use dyes of different particle sizes.
How do gap junctions aid our vision?
They help us to see in the dark.
- Gap junctions open in the dark
- This allows light to be picked up from a large number of neurons at once
- Means we can see in low light but is fuzzy
In the light, dopamine is present and we can pick up light from individual neurons, better quality.
Dopmaine controls if Gap junctions are open or closed.
What is the function of hemidesmosomes and describe their structure.
A cell matrix junction
- link to intermediate filaments
- Provide strong adhesion, in particular epithelial tissues; stratified (skin), psuedostratified (oesophagous) and transitional.
Structure
Extracellular
* Alpha 6, beta 4 integrin pair and Bp180
Intracellular
* Plectin and BP230
How do Hemidesmosomes attach to the basement membrane?
Hemidesmosomes provide strong attachement to basal lamina. They do this via the integrins attaching to the laminin.
The basal lamina consists of a laminin network and a collagen network. The Hemidesmosome interact with the laminin network which allows recruitment of bp230 and plectin.
- Lamanin network
- Collagen 4 network
- Linked with perlecan and nidogen
- Lacking any of this will mean breaks between epithelium and bit below that, means no epithelium, means no disease prevention or permeability barriers
What determines what type of matrix that a focal adhesion adheres to?
The integrins.
- Alpha1beta1 and a2b1 integrins interact with collagen
- A6b1 will interact with lamanin
- A4b1 a5b1 interact with fibronectin
What are the two functions of focal adhesions?
1) Interact with specific ECM via specific integrins
- maintaining tissue structure
- motility
2) Interact with signaling molecules.
- Promote ECM assembly
- When interacting with the correct matrix, they release signals that promote cell survival and cell death if on the wrong matrix
What change needs to occur to focal adhesions in order for cell to metastasize?
Need to change the integrins they express, so that they can bind to different types of matrix and not release cell senescence signals.
Where are selectins found? What is their purpose?
Endothelium, leukocyte, platelet.
They recognize carbohydrates in adjacent cells. (instead of proteins like cell adhesion molecules). This is particularly important for leukocytes recognising sites of infections.
E-Selectins for endothelium
L selectins for leukoctyes
P Selectins for platelets.
How do selectin enable to leukocytes to to target sites of infection?
They recognise carbohydrates on the endothelium of the blood stream. At first attach weaklya nd role before attaching more firmly and squeezin between the gaps in the cells or even straight through the middle of the endothelial cell.
The intial capture is dependent on the selectins. Leukocytes have L-selectins, which interact with PSGL-1 in the enodthelial cells.
Cells near sites of infeaction produce give of two signals, interleukin 1 (IL1) and TNF alpha. This causes nearby endothelium to express PSGL-1, E selectin and P selectin creating adhesion.
* adhesion because PSGL-1 interacts with the L-selectins on leukocytes
* and E/P selectins interact with the PSGL-1 on the leukocytes.
* Second step, endothelium produces platelet activating factor and IL 8 * Activates integrins that interact with JAM1 and JAM 2 (proteins found in tight junctions) JAM proteins causes firm sticking
Why is polarity required in enterocytes?
Apical/basal polarity
- Directed absorption and secretion
- Absorb nutrients from gut lumen and secrete into surrounding tissue fluid and on to blood stream
- Glucose brought in via sodium glucose symport
- Diffuses out via passive glucose carrier protein
Apical basal polarity required for this, for the localisation of symport and carrier proteins
How is polarity set up? (in epithelial cells)
Apical
* Par3, Par6, aPKC form an apically localised complex
* aPC phosphorylates Par1 and Lethal giant larvae (Lgl)
* Phosphorylated forms cant interact with the membrane on apical side, so Par1 and Lgl cant go near apical side
Basolateral
* however on the basolateral side they are not phosphorylated so form a complex along side disc large and scribble.
* Par1 is also a protein kinase and can phosphorylate Par3
* this means Par3 and its complex cant go on the basolateral side so is restricted to the apical side.
How do the Par complexs required for cell polarity get localised in the first place?
The apical complex can be localized through the tight junctions.
The Par3 will interact with the JAM proteins found in the tight junctions (which are always apical)
- Alternatively, via Par6 interaction with crumbs stardust complex which is found slightly above the tight junctions
- Particularly important in invertebrate cells which dont have tight junctions
What are some examples of where polarity is needed?
- enterocytes (receptors)
- neurons (axons from dendrites)
- migrating cells (leading from lagging edge)
Planar polarity
* Fly wing, trichomes hairs point from proximal to dismal
* Inner ear stereocillia in mammals, directionality needed for hearing
What is planar polarity and how is it formed?
Refers to opposing polarity across the left/right planes of the cell.
* Fly wing, trichomes hairs point from proximal to dismal
* Inner ear stereocillia in mammals, directionality needed for hearing
How?
* Flamingo makes homotypic interactions between cells of the wing epithelium
* This allows frizzled and strabismus to interact and localised frizzled to the distal side of the cell
* Frizzled signals via dishevelled to re-organise the actin cytoskeleton and form the hairs
* Strabismus signalling via prickle prevents hair development in the proximal end of the cell
Meaning hair forms n the distal end but not the proximal
Describe primary and secondary neural tube formation.
Primary Neurulation
* Made anteriorly
* Development from the ectoderm
* Columnar neural plate forms from the ectoderm epithelial cells
* Neural plate bends to form a grove, which folds closer.
* Fuse together to make a tube
Secondary nuerulation
- Mesenchymal cells condense
- Form the medullary cord and notochord
- Mesenchymal epithelial transistion (Met) , forms a cavity creating the lumen of neural tube