Ferreira Ana Rita, Felgueiras Juliana, Fardilha Margarida
Health Sciences Department, University of Aveiro , Aveiro , Portugal and.
J Recept Signal Transduct Res. 2015 Feb;35(1):67-75. doi: 10.3109/10799893.2014.931426. Epub 2014 Jul 14.
Epithelial cells form the epithelium, one of the basic tissues of the human body. These cells present specializations from tissue to tissue, determining different structures and functions. Tissues formed by epithelial cells are characterized by the few extracellular matrix found between adjacent cells. In this way, to preserve tissue integrity, cells have to stick to each other and have to maintain a strict communication with the environment via cell junctions. Signal transduction is the main way of cell communication, being vital for the regulation of cell survival and proliferation. In cell junctions, this communication occurs through cell adhesion molecules that promote cell-to-cell and cell-to-extracellular matrix adhesion, as well as, enable the flow of information to the inside and to the outside of the cell. These molecules include integrins and cadherins, among others. The impairment of cell signaling in epithelial junctions has been involved in several pathological processes that underlie the development of, for example, colorectal cancer. Thus, epithelial cell signaling mediators have been explored as potential therapeutic targets and efforts have been made to achieve a deeper understanding of molecular events that occur at cell junctions. In this review, we address the current knowledge on the main signaling events that take place in anchoring junctions of epithelial cells, focusing both on cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix interactions. To conclude, we explore some relevant consequences from epithelial cell signaling impairment and demonstrate that the molecular mediators of the pathways analyzed may be putative therapeutic targets.
上皮细胞形成上皮组织，这是人体的基本组织之一。这些细胞在不同组织中呈现出特殊化，决定了不同的结构和功能。由上皮细胞形成的组织的特点是相邻细胞之间存在少量细胞外基质。通过这种方式，为了保持组织完整性，细胞必须相互黏附，并通过细胞连接与环境保持严格的通讯。信号转导是细胞通讯的主要方式，对细胞存活和增殖的调节至关重要。在细胞连接中，这种通讯通过促进细胞间和细胞与细胞外基质黏附的细胞黏附分子发生，同时还能使信息在细胞内外流动。这些分子包括整合素和钙黏蛋白等。上皮连接中细胞信号传导的受损与多种病理过程有关，这些病理过程是例如结直肠癌发生发展的基础。因此，上皮细胞信号传导介质已被探索为潜在的治疗靶点，并且人们已经努力更深入地了解细胞连接处发生的分子事件。在这篇综述中，我们阐述了关于上皮细胞锚定连接中发生的主要信号事件的当前知识，重点关注细胞间和细胞与基质的相互作用。最后，我们探讨了上皮细胞信号传导受损的一些相关后果，并证明所分析途径的分子介质可能是假定的治疗靶点。
