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Review
. 2021 Jan 31;17(3):712-727.
doi: 10.7150/ijbs.45885. eCollection 2021.

Tight junctions and their regulation by non-coding RNAs

Xiaojiao Zhao  1 , Hongliang Zeng  2 , Li Lei  1 , Xiaoliang Tong  1 , Lun Yang  1 , Yan Yang  1 , Si Li  1 , Ying Zhou  1 , Liping Luo  1 , Jinhua Huang  1 , Rong Xiao  3 , Jing Chen  1   2   3 , Qinghai Zeng  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Tight junctions and their regulation by non-coding RNAs

Xiaojiao Zhao et al. Int J Biol Sci. .

Abstract

Tight junction (TJ) is a "zippering up" junction structure located at the uppermost portion of adjacent epithelial/endothelial cells in organs and tissues. TJs maintain the relative stability of intracellular substances and functions by closing or opening intercellular pathways, coordinating the entry and exit of molecules of different sizes and charges, and regulating the permeability of paracellular barrier. TJs also prevent microbial invasion, maintain epithelial/endothelial cell polarity, and regulate cell proliferation. TJs are widely present in the skin and mucosal epithelial barriers, intestinal epithelial barrier, glomerular filtration barrier, bladder epithelial barrier, blood-brain barrier, brain-blood tumor barrier, and blood-testis barrier. TJ dysfunction in different organs can lead to a variety of diseases. In addition to signal pathways, transcription factors, DNA methylation, histone modification, TJ proteins can also be regulated by a variety of non-coding RNAs, such as micro-RNAs, long-noncoding RNAs, and circular RNAs, directly or indirectly. This review summarizes the structure of TJs and introduces the functions and regulatory mechanisms of TJs in different organs and tissues. The roles and mechanisms of non-coding RNAs in the regulation of TJs are also highlighted in this review.

Keywords: circular RNAs; long-noncoding RNAs; micro-RNAs; tight junction.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
TJ structure. Claudins, occludin, JAM, and etc. constitute the core components of TJ strand. Among them, claudins aggregate to form the backbone of the TJ strand. ZO protein family, cingulin, and etc. act as scaffold proteins to connect TJ strand and actin in TJ. TJ shows a reticular structure formed by the orderly binding of different functional proteins.
Figure 2
Figure 2
TJs are present in the skin and mucosal epithelial barriers, intestinal epithelial barrier, glomerular filtration barrier, bladder epithelial barrier, BBB, BTB, and BBTB. TJ dysfunction in these organs leads to a variety of diseases and morbid conditions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
TJ proteins are regulated by miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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