= Claudin-1
<Claudin-1> is a member of the <claudin> family of <membrane proteins> that form <tight junction> strands. These strands help control passage between neighbouring <cells>. Expressing <claudin-1> in <fibroblasts> that lack normal <tight junctions> can reconstitute strand networks.<A single gene product, claudin-1 or -2, reconstitutes tight junction strands and recruits occludin in fibroblasts by Mikio Furuse and others>[1998, abstract and freeze-fracture replicas]{ref}
Its physiological importance became especially clear in <claudin-1>-deficient mice. Their epidermal barrier failed and they lost <water> rapidly, despite retaining other recognizable skin structures. This showed that a multilayered <epidermis> still depends on functional <tight junctions>, rather than deriving all barrier function from the mere presence of many layers.<Claudin-based tight junctions are crucial for the mammalian epidermal barrier: a lesson from claudin-1-deficient mice by Mikio Furuse and others>[2002, abstract: barrier defect and excessive water loss]{ref}
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