Immature epithelia do not create the permeability barrier necessary to maintain body temperature and hydration, and to prevent infection, contributing significantly to death in preterm infants. Enikanolaiye, Larivière and co-workers show that truncating the cytoplasmic domain of claudin 6 (Cldn6), a tight-junction-associated protein, in mice induces an epithelial phenotype similar to that seen in premature human babies. This model should help understand maturation and repair of the epithelial permeability barrier.
2010
