Physiological functions of junctional adhesion molecules (JAMs) in tight junctions

Junctional adhesion molecules (JAMs) comprise a small subfamily of the immunoglobulin superfamily of adhesion receptors with a multitude of physiological functions in vertebrate development and homeostasis. Several members of the JAM family localize at tight junctions of epithelial and endothelial cells where they interact with PDZ domain-containing scaffolding proteins. For some JAM family members, molecular mechanisms have been elaborated...