Merck Anti-ZO-1 Antibody

Anti-ZO-1 Antibody

from rabbit, purified by affinity chromatography

tight junction protein 1, zonula occludens 1 protein, Zona occludens protein 1, Zonula occludens protein 1, zona occludens 1

Tight junctions are complexes of proteins that create intercellular boundaries between the plasma membrane domains of epithelial and endothelial cells. Many of the tight junction-associated proteins are members of the membrane associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK) family and include occludin and zona occludin family members ZO-1, ZO-2 and ZO-3. These proteins are thought to have both structural and signaling roles, and are characteristically defined by three protein-protein interaction modules: the PDZ domain, the SH3 domain and the guanylate kinase (GuK) domain. ZO-1 forms complexes with either ZO-2 or ZO-3. In addition, these proteins can also associate with claudin, occludin and F-actin, at tight junction stands, where they provide a linkage between the actin cytoskeleton and the tight junction. ZO-1 expression is significantly reduced in many breast cancer lines. ZO-2 and ZO-3 are ubiquitously expressed within epithelial tight junctions, and unlike ZO-1, which is also expressed at cell junctions of cardiac myocytes, ZO-2 is not expressed in nonepithelial tissue.