©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 14, 2015; 21(6): 1759-1764
Published online Feb 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i6.1759
Published online Feb 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i6.1759
Beta-7 integrin controls enterocyte migration in the small intestine
Elke Kaemmerer, Paula Kuhn, Ursula Schneider, Min Kyung Jeon, Christina Klaus, Julia Andruszkow, Michael Härer, Nikolaus Gassler, Institute of Pathology, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Elke Kaemmerer, Thomas Clahsen, Angela Schippers, Norbert Wagner, Department of Pediatrics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Sabine Ernst, Department of Medical Statistics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Author contributions: Kaemmerer E, Klaus C and Gassler N designed the research; Kaemmerer E, Kuhn P, Schneider U, Clahsen T and Jeon M performed the research; Andruszkow J, Härer M and Ernst S contributed analytic tools; Kaemmerer E, Clahsen T, Klaus C, Schippers A, Wagner N and Gassler N wrote the paper; Kaemmerer E and Kuhn P contributed equally.
Supported by Partially by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG GA 785/5-1 and Deutsche Krebshilfe, GA 109313.
Correspondence to: Nikolaus Gassler, Professor, Institute of Pathology, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany. ngassler@ukaachen.de
Telephone: +49-241-8088897 Fax: +49-241-8082439
Received: May 22, 2014
Peer-review started: May 22, 2014
First decision: June 10, 2014
Revised: July 8, 2014
Accepted: July 24, 2014
Article in press: July 25, 2014
Published online: February 14, 2015
Processing time: 265 Days and 17.4 Hours
Peer-review started: May 22, 2014
First decision: June 10, 2014
Revised: July 8, 2014
Accepted: July 24, 2014
Article in press: July 25, 2014
Published online: February 14, 2015
Processing time: 265 Days and 17.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Integrins are involved in migration of epithelial and non-epithelial cells. beta-7-chain integrins are exclusively expressed on leukocytes and important for homing of lymphocytes into the intestinal mucosa. In beta-7 integrin-deficient mice, the number of intraepithelial lymphocytes is drastically decreased and accompanied by a significant increase in enterocyte migration along the crypt-villus axis. This phenomenon is probably mediated by the E-cadherin beta-7 integrin pathway.