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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Dec 4.
Published in final edited form as: Bioconjug Chem. 2019 Sep 5;30(9):2247–2263. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.9b00448

Figure 4.

Figure 4.

NPs induce endothelial leakiness. BEFORE: the paracellular route on the microvascular barrier is mediated by VE–cadherin, which associated with the cadherin–catenin–actin complex. AFTER: Gold NPs bind VE–cadherin, causing VE–cadherin internalization and degradation. As a result, the cadherin–catenin–actin complex disintegrates, and the actin framework is remolded, which leads to an enlarged gap between endothelial cells. In turn, leakiness between endothelial cells is enhanced. VEC: VE–cadherin, β-cat: β-catenin, α-cat: α-catenin. This figure is conceptually adapted from Figure 6 in ref 185.