The α subunit of a pump (the Na+/K+ ATPase) is found at the barrier-forming septate junctions in flies.

Like tight junctions in vertebrates, the ladder-like septate junctions found in most invertebrates act as barriers to epithelial permeability. A pair of papers in this issue provide important new insights into the composition and biology of Drosophila septate junctions, and identify new parallels between these structures and intercellular junctions in vertebrates.

The cholinesterase-like molecule gliotactin is required for the formation of the blood–nerve barrier in flies, and Schulte et al. (page 991) examined its localization. Gliotactin is found in the same tissues as other septate junction components, and appears to be required for septate junction formation. At the subcellular level, though, gliotactin specifically localizes to tricellular junctions, points where three epithelial cells meet, rather than being distributed among all septate junctions.

In...

The Rockefeller University Press
2003
The Rockefeller University Press
2003
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