Tight junctions in neurological diseases

Tight junction, one of the type of cell-cell junctions, controls the paracellular permeability across the lateral intercellular space and maintains the cell polarity. Tight junctions consist of transmembrane proteins: members of tight junction-associated MARVEL protein (TAMP) family, claudins and junctional adhesion molecules (JAMs), and various cytoplasmic proteins that are necessary for the correct organization of the integral membrane components of the junction. Alterations in expression or localization of proteins of tight junctions have been described in several neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. In this review, we summarize the most recent data on components of tight junctions and focus on the implication of tight junction dysfunction in neurological diseases.