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A more recent version of this article appeared on May 1, 2008
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Submitted on September 6, 2007
Revised on January 15, 2008
Accepted on February 6, 2008
Epithelial Pathobiology Research Unit, Department of Pathology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322
Monitoring Editor: M. Bishr Omary
JAM-A is a transmembrane component of tight junctions that has been proposed to play a role in regulating epithelial cell adhesion and migration, yet mechanistic structure-function studies are lacking. While biochemical and structural studies indicate that JAM-A forms cis-homodimers, the functional significance of dimerization is unclear. Here we report the effects of cis-dimerization-defective JAM-A mutants on epithelial cell migration and adhesion. Overexpression of dimerization-defective JAM-A mutants in 293T cells inhibited cell spreading and migration across permeable filters. Similar inhibition was observed with using dimerization-blocking antibodies. Analyses of cells expressing the JAM-A dimerization-defective mutant proteins revealed diminished
1 integrin protein but not mRNA levels. Further analyses of
1 protein localization and expression after disruption of JAM-A dimerization suggested that internalization of
1 integrin precedes degradation. A functional link between JAM-A and
1 integrin was confirmed by restoration of cell migration to control levels after overexpression of
1 integrin in JAM-A dimerization-defective cells. Lastly, we show that the functional effects of JAM dimerization require its carboxy-terminal PDZ binding motif. These results suggest that dimerization of JAM-A regulates cell migration and adhesion through indirect mechanisms involving post-transcriptional control of
1 integrin levels.