| First Author | Morita K | Year | 1999 |
| Journal | J Cell Biol | Volume | 145 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 579-88 |
| PubMed ID | 10225958 | Mgi Jnum | J:64941 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1891486 | Doi | 10.1083/jcb.145.3.579 |
| Citation | Morita K, et al. (1999) Claudin-11/OSP-based tight junctions of myelin sheaths in brain and Sertoli cells in testis. J Cell Biol 145(3):579-88 |
| abstractText | Members of the newly identified claudin gene family constitute tight junction (TJ) strands, which play a pivotal role in compartmentalization in multicellular organisms. We identified oligodendrocyte-specific protein (OSP) as claudin-11, a new claudin family member, due to its sequence similarity to claudins as well as its ability to form TJ strands in transfected fibroblasts. Claudin-11/OSP mRNA was expressed in the brain and testis. Immunofluorescence microscopy with anti-claudin-11/OSP polyclonal antibody (pAb) and anti-neurofilament mAb revealed that in the brain claudin-11/OSP-positive linear structures run in a gentle spiral around neurofilament-positive axons. At the electron microscopic level, these linear structures were identified as the so-called interlamellar strands in myelin sheaths of oligodendrocytes. In testis, well-developed TJ strands of Sertoli cells were specifically labeled with anti-claudin-11/OSP pAb both at immunofluorescence and electron microscopic levels. These findings indicated that the interlamellar strands of oligodendrocyte myelin sheaths can be regarded as a variant of TJ strands found in many other epithelial cells, and that these strands share a specific claudin species, claudin-11/OSP, with those in Sertoli cells to create and maintain the repeated compartments around axons by oligodendrocytes. |
