BACKGROUND Epithelial junctional networks assume packing geometries characterized by different cell shapes, neighbor number distributions and areas. The development of specific packing geometries is tightly controlled; in the Drosophila wing epithelium, cells convert from an irregular to a hexagonal array shortly before hair formation. Packing geometry is determined by developmental mechanisms ...

The structural features of the chloride-secreting opercular epithelium of seawater-adapted killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) were examined by thin-section and freeze-fracture electron microscopy, with particular emphasis on the morphological appearance of occluding junctions. This epithelium is a flat sheet consisting predominantly of groups of mitochondriarich chloride cells with their apices ...

introduction: the implantation is a complex procedure that involves many molecules. one of these molecules is integrin specially &alphav;&beta3; which serves as receptor for components of extra cellular matrix to act as bridging molecules between the blastocyst and the endometrial surface during the implantation process. by blocking &alphav;&beta3; interactions, the implantation can be impaired...

The airway epithelium of smokers acquires pathological phenotypes, including basal cell (BC) and/or goblet cell hyperplasia, squamous metaplasia, structural and functional abnormalities of ciliated cells, decreased number of secretoglobin (SCGB1A1)-expressing secretory cells, and a disordered junctional barrier. In this study, we hypothesized that smoking alters airway epithelial structure thro...

TRKE-1 is a pure line of epithelium-like neoplastic cells derived from the kidney of a rat treated 48 hr previously with a carcinogenic dose of dimethylnitrosamine. Using light microscopy, the line was characterized by cohesive growth behavior typical for epithelium and the formation of hemicysts (domes) at postconfluence. Enhancement of dome formation by dibutyryl cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monoph...

Barrett's epithelium is a columnar, possibly premalignant, metaplasia of the oesophagus. To study the pattern of epithelial renewal in this disorder, we localised the lower oesophageal sphincter by manometry in 12 patients with known Barrett's epithelium, obtained multiple suction biopsies above the sphincter, and organ cultured the biopsies over 3H-TdR-containing medium to label proliferating ...

The junctional epithelium (JE) is an epithelial component that is directly attached to the tooth surface and has a protective function against periodontal diseases. In this study, we determined the origin of the JE using a bioengineered tooth technique. We transplanted the bioengineered tooth germ into the alveolar bone with an epithelial component that expressed green fluorescence protein. The...

Cellular junctions of the lining epithelium of the efferent ductules of the mouse, guinea pig, and human testes were examined by freeze-fracture. A belt-like gap juncion consists of a large aggregation of particles with a few fragments of the tight junctional strands and circumferentially occupies the adluminal area between the nonciliated cells. This type of gap junction appears to be one of t...

Abstract As developing tissues grow in size and undergo morphogenetic changes, their material properties may be altered. Such changes result from tension dynamics at cell contacts or cellular jamming. Yet, many cases, the mechanisms controlling physical state of growing are unclear. We found that early developmental stages, epithelium mouse spinal cord maintains both high junctional fluidity. T...