Tight Junction Modulators

Call for Papers

Epithelia and endothelia exist at the interface of body compartments where they act as a barrier between compositionally distinct areas. In both cell types the barrier function is guaranteed by the presence of highly specialized junctional complexes, that is, tight and adherens junctions.

Tight junctions are multiprotein complexes that form a gasket-like circumferential seal around the apical portion of individual cells. This seal limits free passage of molecules by the paracellular pathway such that only small, hydrophilic molecules and ions can cross epithelia by this route. However, tight junctions are not static structures and their permeability is strictly regulated and can change in response to a variety of stimuli both physiological and pathological.

Adherens junctions lie immediately below the tight junction. Although principally involved in cell-to-cell adhesion, the adherens junction is also extremely important for barrier function and facilitates the assembly of tight junctions. Modulators of adherens junction function often impact on the function of tight junctions.

In recent years, much attention has focused on modulation of tight junction permeability. For example, dynamic, reversible opening of tight junctions has been exploited to aid oral absorption of drugs and a number of absorption enhancers have been developed. By contrast, other workers have concentrated on understanding how a breakdown of tight junction barrier function could be involved in different pathological conditions ad have focused on preventing it, for example, to preserve/restore epithelial barriers in inflammatory conditions.

We invite authors to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that will stimulate the continuing effort to understand how tight junction permeability is modulated in health and disease. We are particularly interested in articles describing new modulators and their modes of action. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Studies to further current understanding of the mechanisms of action of known modulators (physiological and pathological)
• Molecular characterization of junctional diversity in different epithelia/endothelia
• Modulation of tight junctions in stratified epithelia such as epidermis
• Modulation of tight junctions in the vascular endothelium
• Tight junction regulation and immune functions
• Recent advances in drug delivery

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jbb/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable:

Lead Guest Editor

• Catherine O'Neill, Inflammation sciences, School of Medicine, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

Guest Editors

• Ryan O'Shaughnessy, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK
• Yula Sambuy, National Research Institute on Food and Nutrition (INRAN), Rome, Italy