Phosphorylation at endothelial cell–cell junctions: Implications for VE-cadherin function

Ilse Timmerman, Peter L Hordijk, Jaap D van BuulDepartment of Molecular Cell Biology, Sanquin Research and Landsteiner Laboratory, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The NetherlandsAbstract: Endothelial cell–cell junctions are strictly regulated in order to control the barrier function of endothelium. Vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin is one of the proteins that is crucial in this process. It has been reported that phosphorylation events control the function of VE-cadherin. This review summarizes the role of VE-cadherin phosphorylation in the regulation of endothelial cell–cell junctions and highlights how this affects vascular permeability and leukocyte extravasation.Keywords: endothelium, VE-cadherin, junctions, barrier, phosphorylation