Cell junctions
Dr. Kalpana .B
Associate professor
Physiology
• Connections between the cells of tissue .
• Hold the cells together
Types
1. Tight junctions or zonulae occludens.
2. Desmosomes/ anchoring junctions
3. Gap junction/ communicating junctions
• Tight junctions
• Ridge like structures between
adjacent cells.
• Cells are bound together .
• Form selective barrier.
• They are important in preventing
molecules leaking between the cells.
• Made up of proteins called
Claudins and Occludins
• Present at the apical
margins of the epithelial
cells of the intestinal
mucosa, renal tubules
• True tight junctions:
Blood brain barrier
• Leaky tight junctions:
Nephron tubular
Functions
• Provide strong union between adjacent cells
giving strength and stability to the tissue
• Acts like a blood-brain barrier in the brain
• In ciliary body act as blood-aqueous barrier
• Helps in maintaining cell polarity by
preventing movement of proteins towards
the lateral walls
• Do not allow free passage of ions through
intercellular space
Anchoring junctions
• Firm structural
• Desmosomes
attachment between
two cells or between • Hemi desmosomes
a cell and the
extracellular matrix
• Attachment is
provided by actin or
intermediate
filaments
Desmosome
• The membranes of adjacent
cells are separated by a gap of
200 A
• fasten cells together
strengthening the tissue
• The proteins involved in these
junctions are Cadherins
• Seen in structures that are
subjected to stretching and
friction
• Eg: Skin, myocardium, uterus
Hemidesmosome
• They appear like half
desmosome and they
anchor cells to the
basement membrane
• The proteins
responsible for the
anchoring are
Integrins
Communicating junctions
The junctions which permit the movement of
molecules ad ions form one cell to another
Eg:
• Gap junctions
• Chemical synapses
Gap junctions
• 2nm
• Form channels between cells.
• Allow ions and small molecules .
• These channels are formed by
membrane proteins called connexin.
Functions
• Permit electrical signals to pass directly from
one cell to another.
• Heart and smooth muscle cells and between
some neurons.
• Regulate the membrane potential
• Electrical impulses passing between cardiac
muscle cells
• Provide the contractions of the smooth muscle
cells of the uterus during birth
Chemical synapse
Junction between a nerve
fibre and a muscle fibre
or between two nerve
fibres
Eg:
• Neuromuscular
junction
• Syapse
Cell communication
Cell Communication
There are four basic mechanisms for
cellular communication:
1. Neural communication
2. Endocrine communication
3. Paracrine communication
4. Autocrine communication
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Neural communication
• Electrical signals and
chemical substances
• Neurotransmitters
• These are released from
the nerve endings at
synaptic junctions and
act on postsynaptic cell
Endocrine communication
• Hormones secreted
by the endocrine cells
reach the target cells
via circulating blood
• Eg: GH, TSH, cortisol,
etc
Paracrine communications
• Chemical substances
produced by some
cells diffuse into the
ECF and act on
adjacent neighbouring
cells
• Eg: pancreatic
polypeptide,
somatostatin, etc
Autocrine communication
• Chemical released by
a cell binds to the
receptor present on
the same cell and
affects its functions
• Eg: T helper cells
produce IL-2 which
acts on itself
Communication between cells requires:
ligand: the signaling molecule
receptor protein: the molecule to which the
receptor binds
-may be on the plasma membrane or
within the cell
Second Messengers
• Many signaling pathway -second
messengers.
– Two of the most important are cyclic AMP
and Ca2+.
