03.10.2026 Publication alert - Junctional plakoglobin regulates intestinal epithelial cell proliferation via MAPK/ERK signaling

In this brand new publication, a joint venture (lead by Nicolas Schlegel and Matthias Kelm) took a closer look at the role of junctional plakoglobin (JUP) in intestinal epithelial cell repair and proliferation. 🔬

Junctional plakoglobin (JUP) is a desmosomal protein that is essential for maintaining epithelial tissue integrity and plays an important role in epithelial–immune cell crosstalk. Although JUP has already been implicated in inflammatory processes, its role during intestinal epithelial repair was not clear yet.

To better understand how JUP influences epithelial wound healing, the researchers examined the effects of JUP loss in monolayers, intestinal organoids and a mouse model 🐭. Interestingly, loss of JUP markedly accelerated wound closure! 🩹 This was accompanied by increased epithelial cell migration and proliferation. 

RNA sequencing made clear: JUP deficiency resulted in activation of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway, which was further confirmed by increased ERK phosphorylation in Western blot analyses. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of ERK abolished the accelerated wound closure. This demonstrates that MAPK/ERK signaling is not just associated with the observed phenotype, but is a critical driver of the enhanced epithelial repair following JUP loss. 🛠️

Together, these findings identify JUP as a previously unrecognized regulator of intestinal epithelial cell dynamics and repair. But even more interesting: JUP, as a protein best known for maintaining epithelial integrity, can also influence how epithelial cells respond to injury, migrate and proliferate.💡

Congrats again to Cathérine Kollmann, Christoph Otto, Sven Flemming, Franziska Vielmuth, Daniela Kugelmann, Kai Kretzschmar, Brenda Gerull, Nicolas Schlegel and Matthias Kelm on this team effort and the knowledge we gained from their research! 🧠 
 
Read the full story here.