Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Tissue Barriers. 2021 Oct 2;9(4):1943274. doi: 10.1080/21688370.2021.1943274. Epub 2021 Jul 9.
Oropharyngeal, airway, intestinal, and genital mucosal epithelia are the main portals of entry for the majority of human pathogenic viruses. To initiate systemic infection, viruses must first be transmitted across the mucosal epithelium and then spread across the body. However, mucosal epithelia have well-developed tight junctions, which have a strong barrier function that plays a critical role in preventing the spread and dissemination of viral pathogens. Viruses can overcome these barriers by disrupting the tight junctions of mucosal epithelia, which facilitate paracellular viral penetration and initiate systemic disease. Disruption of tight and adherens junctions may also release the sequestered viral receptors within the junctional areas, and liberation of hidden receptors may facilitate viral infection of mucosal epithelia. This review focuses on possible molecular mechanisms of virus-associated disruption of mucosal epithelial junctions and its role in transmucosal viral transmission and spread.
口咽、气道、肠道和生殖道黏膜上皮是大多数人类致病病毒的主要进入门户。为了引发全身感染,病毒必须首先穿过黏膜上皮,然后在全身传播。然而,黏膜上皮具有发育良好的紧密连接,具有强大的屏障功能,对防止病毒病原体的传播和扩散起着至关重要的作用。病毒可以通过破坏黏膜上皮的紧密连接来克服这些障碍,这有助于病毒经旁细胞渗透并引发全身疾病。紧密连接和黏附连接的破坏也可能会释放出连接区域内被隔离的病毒受体,而隐藏受体的释放可能会促进黏膜上皮的病毒感染。本综述重点介绍了与病毒相关的黏膜上皮连接破坏的可能分子机制,及其在跨黏膜病毒传播和扩散中的作用。