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. 2020 Oct 20;8:e10136. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10136

Figure 1. Role of cell-cell contact in health and PVR.

Figure 1

(A) Tight junctions and adherens junctions maintain cell-cell contact and cell polarity in RPE cells. Mature RPE cells with cell-cell contact remain dormant by sequestering EMT effectors to prevent nuclear localization. ZO-1 sequesters nucleic acid-binding protein (ZONAB) at tight junctions/cytoplasm, and adherens junctions sequester β-catenin by binding to epithelial cadherins. Tight junctions have a barrier function that control the passage of solutes. (B) Loss of cell-cell contact initiates EMT. Deconstruction of junctional complexes or reduction of epithelial cadherins/ZO-1 elicits nuclear localization of ZONAB/β-catenin and activation of their target genes, and disrupts the outer blood retinal barrier, facilitating the release of growth factors and cytokines, which further aggravate PVR.