Brush border protocadherin CDHR2 promotes the elongation and maximized packing of microvilli in vivo.

ABSTRACT: Transporting epithelial cells optimize their morphology for solute uptake by building an apical specialization: a dense array of microvilli that serves to increase membrane surface area. In the intestinal tract, individual cells build thousands of microvilli, which pack tightly to form the brush border. Recent studies implicate adhesion molecule CDHR2 in the regulation of microvillar packing via the formation of adhesion complexes between the tips of adjacent protrusions. To gain insight on how CDHR2 contributes to brush border morphogenesis and enterocyte function under native in vivo conditions, we generated mice lacking CDHR2 expression in the intestinal tract. Although CDHR2 knockout (KO) mice are viable, body weight trends lower and careful examination of tissue, cell, and brush borde

SUBMITTER: Pinette JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6337912 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature