Abstract
Recent findings from our laboratories have shown that Cd 2+ has relatively specific damaging effects on the adhering and occluding junctions in the established porcine renal epithelial cell line, LLC-PK 1. Results of the present studies show that the junction-perturbing effects of Cd 2+ in LLC-PK 1 cells are more pronounced when Cd 2+ is applied to the basolateral cell surface than when it is applied to the apical surface, and that the severity of the effects is inversely related to the concentration of Ca 2+ in the medium. Additional results show that exposure to sublethal concentrations of Cd 2+ decreases the amount of E-cadherin that is associated with cell-cell contacts. These results suggest that Cd 2+ damages Ca 2+-dependent cell-cell junctions in LLC-PK 1 cells by interacting with E-cadherin or a similar Ca 2+-sensitive site that is oriented toward the basolateral cell surface.
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