Regulation of epithelial apical junctions and barrier function by Gα13

Abstract

The epithelial tight junction forms a barrier to paracellular solute movement. In this study we show that the heterotrimeric G-protein Gα13 regulates the epithelial tight junction barrier. We generated MDCKII kidney epithelial cell lines in which the expression of an active Gα13 mutant (Gα13Q226L) could be induced. We demonstrated that Gα13Q226L expression increased paracellular permeability and caused the disruption and redistribution of proteins comprising the tight junction and the adherens junction away from sites of cell contact and the appearance of basal stress fibers. The effects on the junctional proteins and the actin cytoskeleton were abrogated by the Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 but not by the Src kinase inhibitor PP2. The Gα13 mediated increase in permeability was also Src kinase independent but was partly dependent on Rho kinase signalling. Our data establish a link between Gα13, Rho kinase signaling and epithelial barrier function and not only demonstrate that Gα13 regulates epithelial apical junction properties but that it does so via signaling pathways that are distinct from the closely related protein Gα12.