Structure
According to its overall hydrophilicity, occludin appears to span the plasma membrane four times, forming two extracellular loops and exposing its NH2 and COOH terminus to the cytosol. Interaction of occludin with several cytoplasmic proteins of the junctional plaque has been found to occur via its COOH terminus, while the extracellular loops are thought to be involved in the regulation of paracellular permeability and cell adhesion. Phosphorylation/dephosphorylation plays a major role in regulation of occludin and tight junctions.
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“Why does philosophy use concepts and why does faith use symbols if both try to express the same ultimate? The answer, of course, is that the relation to the ultimate is not the same in each case. The philosophical relation is in principle a detached description of the basic structure in which the ultimate manifests itself. The relation of faith is in principle an involved expression of concern about the meaning of the ultimate for the faithful.”
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