Claudins and the kidney

J Hou, M Rajagopal, ASL Yu - Annual review of physiology, 2013 - annualreviews.org
J Hou, M Rajagopal, ASL Yu
Annual review of physiology, 2013annualreviews.org
Claudins are tight junction membrane proteins that regulate paracellular permeability of
renal epithelia to small ions, solutes, and water. Claudins interact within the cell membrane
and between neighboring cells to form tight junction strands and constitute both the
paracellular barrier and the pore. The first extracellular domain of claudins is thought to be
the pore-lining domain and contains the determinants of charge selectivity. Multiple claudins
are expressed in different nephron segments; such differential expression likely determines …
Claudins are tight junction membrane proteins that regulate paracellular permeability of renal epithelia to small ions, solutes, and water. Claudins interact within the cell membrane and between neighboring cells to form tight junction strands and constitute both the paracellular barrier and the pore. The first extracellular domain of claudins is thought to be the pore-lining domain and contains the determinants of charge selectivity. Multiple claudins are expressed in different nephron segments; such differential expression likely determines the permeability properties of each segment. Recent evidence has identified claudin-2 as constituting the cation-reabsorptive pathway in the proximal tubule; claudin-14, -16, and -19 as forming a complex that regulates calcium transport in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle; and claudin-4, -7, and -8 as determinants of collecting duct chloride permeability. Mutations in claudin-16 and -19 cause familial hypercalciuric hypomagnesemia with nephrocalcinosis. The roles of other claudins in kidney diseases remain to be fully elucidated.
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