Membrane Trafficking of Integral Cell Junction Proteins

Abstract

Though membrane trafficking of cell junction proteins has been studied extensively for more than two decades, the accumulated knowledge remains fragmentary. The goal of this review is to synthesize the numerous and disparate observations on the membrane trafficking of the five major junction transmembrane proteins accumulated to date to comprehend the current state of the art, to highlight differences and similarities among the trafficking pathways, and to identify topics that are not fully understood. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis appears to be the main but not exclusive mode of internalization. Caveolin-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis are employed less frequently. PDZ-domain binding is the predominant mode of interaction between junction protein cytoplasmic tails and scaffold proteins. It is shared by claudins, the largest family of junction integral proteins, and by the three nectins. All five proteins are destined to either recycling via Rab4/Rab11 GTPases or to degradation. The sorting mechanisms that underlie the specificity of their endocytic pathways and determine their fates are not fully known. New data is presented to introduce an emerging role of junction-associated scaffold proteins in claudin membrane trafficking.