Takehiko Oami, Shabnam Abtahi, Takashi Shimazui, Ching-Wen Chen, Yan Y Sweat, Zhe Liang, Eileen M Burd, Alton B Farris, Joe T Roland, Sachiko Tsukita, Mandy L Ford, Jerrold R Turner, Craig M Coopersmith
Intestinal epithelial expression of the tight junction protein claudin-2, which forms paracellular cation and water channels, is precisely regulated during development and in disease. Here, we show that small intestinal epithelial claudin-2 expression is selectively upregulated in septic patients. Similar changes occurred in septic mice, where claudin-2 upregulation coincided with increased flux across the paracellular pore pathway. In order to define the significance of these changes, sepsis was induced in claudin-2 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice...
March 5, 2024: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America