Characterization of the Column and Autocellular Junctions That Define the Vasculature of Gill Lamellae

Novel adhesion junctions have been characterized that are formed at the interface between pillar cells and collagen columns, both of which are essential constituents of the gill lamellae in fish. We termed these junctions the “column junction” and “autocellular junction” and determined their molecul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry 2007-09, Vol.55 (9), p.941-953
Main Authors: Kato, Akira, Nakamura, Korefumi, Kudo, Hisayuki, Tran, Yen Ha, Yamamoto, Yoko, Doi, Hiroyuki, Hirose, Shigehisa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Basement Membrane - ultrastructure
Cell Membrane - metabolism
Cell-Matrix Junctions
Endothelial Cells - metabolism
Endothelial Cells - ultrastructure
Extracellular Matrix - metabolism
Extracellular Matrix - ultrastructure
Fibrillar Collagens - ultrastructure
Fluorescent Antibody Technique
Gills - blood supply
Gills - cytology
Gills - ultrastructure
Laminin - metabolism
Membrane Proteins - metabolism
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Myocytes, Smooth Muscle - diagnostic imaging
Myocytes, Smooth Muscle - metabolism
Phosphoproteins - metabolism
Tetraodontiformes - anatomy & histology
Tight Junctions - metabolism
Ultrasonography
Zonula Occludens-1 Protein
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Summary:Novel adhesion junctions have been characterized that are formed at the interface between pillar cells and collagen columns, both of which are essential constituents of the gill lamellae in fish. We termed these junctions the “column junction” and “autocellular junction” and determined their molecular compositions by immunofluorescence microscopy using pufferfish. We visualized collagen columns by concanavalin A staining and found that the components of integrin-mediated cell-matrix adhesion, such as talin, vinculin, paxillin, and fibronectin, were concentrated on plasma membranes surrounding collagen columns (column membranes). This connection is analogous to the focal adhesion of cultured mammalian cells, dense plaque of smooth muscle cells, and myotendinous junction of skeletal muscle cells. We named this connection the “column junction.” In the cytoplasm near the column, actin fibers, actinin, and a phosphorylated myosin light chain of 20 kDa are densely located, suggesting the contractile nature of pillar cells. The membrane infoldings surrounding the collagen columns were found to be connected by the autocellular junction, whose components are highly tyrosine-phosphorylated and contain the tight junction protein ZO-1. This study represents the first molecular characterization and fluorescence visualization of the column and autocellular junctions involved in both maintaining structural integrity and the hemodynamics of the branchial lamellae.
ISSN:0022-1554
1551-5044
DOI:10.1369/jhc.6A7154.2007