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Tight Junctions, Junctional Adhesion Molecules (JAMs), and the Blood Brain Barrier

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Tight Junctions in Cancer Metastasis

Part of the book series: Cancer Metastasis - Biology and Treatment ((CMBT,volume 19))

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Abstract

Tight junctions form a barrier for solutes at cell-cell contacts of epithelial and endothelial cells. Within the vasculature, they are particularly well developed between endothelial cells of the blood brain barrier to protect the brain from potentially dangerous substances present in the blood. A critical role in the regulation of tight junction formation has been found for a small family of cell adhesion molecules, the Junctional Adhesion Molecules (JAMs). JAMs comprise a small subfamily within the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell adhesion molecules which consists of the three members JAM-A, -B, and -C. Originally identified in epithelial cells, endothelial cells and platelets, JAMs have been found to be expressed by many other cells including Sertoli cells, spermatids, Schwann cells, microglia cells and smooth muscle cells suggesting a general role for JAMs in cell biology. In fact, JAMs are involved in such diverse processes as cell proliferation, cell migration, tight junction formation, or leukocyte – endothelial cell interactions. These functions probably depend on the ability of JAMs to participate in signaling events. Recent evidence indicates a correlation between the expression levels of JAMs and the tumorigenicity of certain tumor cells suggesting that tumor cells exploit some functions of JAMs to metastasize. In this article, we will review the role of JAMs in tumorigenesis with emphasis on their role in tight junction and blood brain barrier formation.

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Abbreviations

aPKC:

Atypical protein kinase-C

BBB:

Blood brain barrier

GTPase:

Guanine nucleotide triphosphatase

Ig-SF:

Immunoglobulin-superfamily

JAM:

Junctional adhesion molecule

Par:

Partitioning-defective

TGFβ:

Transforming growth factor-β

TJ:

Tight junction

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute-associated Research Group “Cell adhesion and cell polarity”, Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Center of Molecular Biology of Inflammation (ZMBE), University of Muenster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 56, D-48149, Münster, Germany

    Klaus Ebnet Ph.D., Benjamin F. Brinkmann, Daniel Kummer, Steve Misselwitz, Swetha S. D. Peddibhotla & Hüseyin Tuncay

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  1. Klaus Ebnet Ph.D.
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  2. Benjamin F. Brinkmann
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  3. Daniel Kummer
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  4. Steve Misselwitz
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  5. Swetha S. D. Peddibhotla
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  6. Hüseyin Tuncay
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Correspondence to Klaus Ebnet Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiff University, Institute of Cancer & Genetics, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, West Glamorgan, United Kingdom

    Tracey A. Martin

  2. Cardiff University, Institute of Cancer & Genetics, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF4 4XN, United Kingdom

    Wen G. Jiang

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Ebnet, K., Brinkmann, B.F., Kummer, D., Misselwitz, S., Peddibhotla, S.S.D., Tuncay, H. (2013). Tight Junctions, Junctional Adhesion Molecules (JAMs), and the Blood Brain Barrier. In: Martin, T., Jiang, W. (eds) Tight Junctions in Cancer Metastasis. Cancer Metastasis - Biology and Treatment, vol 19. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6028-8_5

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