PROTEIN KINASE C AFFECTS REFORMATION OF ENDOTHELIAL JUNCTIONS IN XENOPUS XTH-2 CELLS

Endothelial cells can reversibly be forced to suppress the formation of endothelial junctions (EJ) by cultivation in a low calcium medium. The authors localized vinculin and cadherin as marker proteins of EJ and actin as a cytoskeletal component by fluorescence microscopy, and used this cell model to study the reformation of endothelial junctions under conditions of activation and inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC). Inhibition of PKC by H-7 leads to an acceleration of EJ reformation, while constitutive activation by TPA inhibits the reformation process.