Xing Tiaosi, Camacho Salazar Rolando, Chen Yan-Hua
a Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology , Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University , Greenville , NC , USA.
b Department of Pediatrics , Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University , Greenville , NC , USA.
Tissue Barriers. 2017 Oct 2;5(4):e1356901. doi: 10.1080/21688370.2017.1356901. Epub 2017 Aug 10.
The intestinal epithelial cells line the luminal surface of the entire gastrointestinal tract which is crucial for the absorption of nutrients and prevention of pathogens entering from the external environment. The epithelial barrier plays an important role in organ development, disease pathogenesis, and aging. The major component of an epithelial barrier is the single columnar epithelium and tight junctions. Tight junctions are located at the most apical region of the junctional complex and contain many integral membrane proteins, such as occludin, the claudin family, and junctional adhesion molecules (JAMs). The disruption of intestinal epithelial barriers may lead to several pathophysiological conditions causing malabsorption of nutrition and chronic inflammation. In this review, we provide an update on the alterations of epithelial barriers associated with gut diseases using experimental animal models; we appraise the role of tight junctions in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and colorectal cancer; we also compare some common features as well as differences and similarities in the pathophysiology of intestinal inflammation in neonatal (NEC) and adult (IBD) gut.
肠上皮细胞排列在整个胃肠道的管腔表面，这对于营养物质的吸收以及防止病原体从外部环境进入至关重要。上皮屏障在器官发育、疾病发病机制和衰老过程中发挥着重要作用。上皮屏障的主要组成部分是单层柱状上皮和紧密连接。紧密连接位于连接复合体的最顶端区域，包含许多整合膜蛋白，如闭合蛋白、claudin家族和连接粘附分子（JAMs）。肠上皮屏障的破坏可能导致几种病理生理状况，引起营养物质吸收不良和慢性炎症。在本综述中，我们使用实验动物模型提供了与肠道疾病相关的上皮屏障改变的最新情况；我们评估了紧密连接在新生儿坏死性小肠结肠炎（NEC）、炎症性肠病（IBD）和结直肠癌中的作用；我们还比较了新生儿（NEC）和成人（IBD）肠道炎症病理生理学中的一些共同特征以及异同点。
