The significance of interferon-gamma-triggered internalization of tight-junction proteins in inflammatory bowel disease.

Disruption of the epithelial barrier function of tight junctions by the proinflammatory cytokine interferon (IFN)-gamma plays a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease and other gastrointestinal disorders, but its precise mechanism has not been established. This Perspective provides an overview of how IFN-gamma triggers barrier dysfunction and bacterial translocation in intestinal epithelial cells, and highlights the roles of internalization of tight-junction transmembrane proteins, as well as rearrangements of the cortical actin cytoskeleton, in intestinal inflammation.