Architecture of Tight Junctions and the Paracellular Transport Mechanism

Fatemeh Khalili-Araghi, University of Illinois at Chicago

Usage Details

Permeation of water, ions and small molecules through the space between adjacent cells is controlled by macromolecular protein structures known as tight junctions. Tight junctions seal the paracellular space and act as barriers that limit diffusion of molecules down their electrochemical gradients. Claudins are one of the major components of tight junctions and play a key role in determining the paracellular permeability. Little is known about the assembly of claudins and the architecture of tight junction pores. We have recently built an atomic model of claudin pores and have verified its function using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. However, the architecture of tight junctions at cellular level is still unknown. In this project, we use MD simulations to build a simple model of tight junction networks and investigate its transport properties using the high number of nodes available at Blue Waters.