Schematic drawing of the MT–TJ side-by-side interaction occurring via cingulin and regulated by cingulin’s phosphorylation by AMPK. Schematic drawing of the suggested mechanism for the regulation of the lateral association of MTs with TJs. In the TJs in the apical plane of the epithelial cell sheets, cingulin is anchored to claudin by ZO-1. When cingulin is phosphorylated by AMPK, it binds MTs and mediates their association with TJs.