Different Changes in the Expression of Multiple Kinds of Tight-Junction Proteins during Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury of the Rat Ileum

Dysfunction of tight junctions (TJs), located at the most apical part of the intestinal epithelium, is believed to result in various complications in intestinal disease. However, the behaviors of multiple kinds of TJ proteins during ischemia-reperfusion injury are not understood in detail. To determine changes in expression and localization of TJ proteins during intestinal-barrier recovery, we induced intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats, measured mucosa-to-blood permeability of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran-4 kDa, and compared it with spatiotemporal changes of ZO-1, occludin, and claudin-1, -2, -3, -4, and -5 by immunoconfocal microscopy. At 1 hour post-reperfusion, villi were denuded and intestinal-barrier function was lost. From 6 to 24 hours post-reperfusion, villous epithelium was restored by cell migration, and barrier function together with reticular pattern expression of ZO-1, occludin, and claudin-1, -3, and -5, recovered time-dependently. To the contrary, after ischemia-reperfusion injury, the localized expression of claudin-2 and claudin-4 observed in the non-treated control was lost and replaced with broader expression from crypts to villi with increased basolateral claudin-4 expression in epithelial cells. These data demonstrated that recovery of intestinal barrier function is associated with expression of ZO-1, occludin, and claudin-1, -3, and -5, whereas claudin-2 and claudin-4 show unique changes in expression and localization.