FIG. 2.

Molecular composition of the cerebrovascular endothelial tight-junction structure. Claudins and occludin are critical junctional components. Two other components of the tight junction are junctional adhesion molecules (JAMs) and the endothelial selective adhesion molecule (ESAM). ZO-1 serves as an adaptor molecule in the cytoplasm with the ability to bind membrane proteins. Other important adaptor molecules are cingulin and 7H6. These adaptor proteins, in conjunction with other regulatory proteins, foster communication between membrane junctional molecules and the cytoskeleton. A second junctional complex is the adherens junction, consisting of vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin) and the platelet–endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM).