Claudin-2 is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''CLDN2''
gene
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
.
It belongs to the group of
claudin
Claudins are a family of proteins which, along with occludin, are the most important components of the tight junctions ( zonulae occludentes). Tight junctions establish the paracellular barrier that controls the flow of molecules in the inter ...
s.
Members of the claudin protein family, such as CLDN2, are expressed in an organ-specific manner and regulate the tissue-specific physiologic properties of tight junctions (Sakaguchi et al., 2002).
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Function
Claudin-2 is expressed in
cation
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
-leaky
epithelia
Epithelium or epithelial tissue is a thin, continuous, protective layer of cells with little extracellular matrix. An example is the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. Epithelial ( mesothelial) tissues line the outer surfaces of many ...
such as that of the
kidney
In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...
proximal tubule
The proximal tubule is the segment of the nephron in kidneys which begins from the renal (tubular) pole of the Bowman's capsule to the beginning of loop of Henle. At this location, the glomerular parietal epithelial cells (PECs) lining bowman’s ...
. Mice that are
deficient in claudin-2 have reduced
reabsorption
In renal physiology, reabsorption, more specifically tubular reabsorption, is the process by which the nephron removes water and solutes from the tubular fluid (pre-urine) and returns them to the circulating blood. It is called ''reabsorption' ...
of
Na+ in the proximal tubule, consistent with a role in
paracellular transport
Paracellular transport refers to the transfer of substances across an epithelium by passing through the intercellular space ''between'' the cells. It is in contrast to transcellular transport, where the substances travel ''through'' the cell, pas ...
.
Similar results have been obtained with cultured cells, as overexpression in claudin-2 lacking cells leads to increase of permeability for small cations.
Furthermore, claudin-2 has been shown to form paracellular channels for water.
References
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