There has been a dramatic increase in knowledge of tight junctions in the past decade. The molecular structure of tight junctions, cellular functions and the pathophysiological roles of tight junctions are becoming clear. Of the most important functions, the role of the cellular structure in cancer spread and drug delivery are increasingly realised. It is now clear that there are fundamental changes to tight junctions during the process of cancer development. Tight junctions are also critical to the metastatic process of cancer cells. The cellular structure is also crucial in drug therapies, namely, the permeability and bioavailability of the drugs, penetration of barriers such as the blood brain barrier. This current volume aims to summarise the current knowledge of tight junctions, their role in cancer and cancer metastasis and is of interest to scientists and clinicians.

This book is devoted to innovative medicine, comprising the proceedings of the Uehara Memorial Foundation Symposium 2014. It remains extremely rare for the findings of basic research to be developed into clinical applications, and it takes a long time for the process to be achieved. The task of advancing the development of basic research into clinical reality lies with translational science, yet the field seems to struggle to find a way to move forward. To create innovative medical technology, many steps need to be taken: development and analysis of optimal animal models of human diseases, elucidation of genomic and epidemiological data, and establishment of “proof of concept”. There is also considerable demand for progress in drug research, new surgical procedures, and new clinical devices and equipment. While the original research target may be rare diseases, it is also important to apply those findings more broadly to common diseases. The book covers a wide range of topics and is organized into three complementary parts. The first part is basic research for innovative medicine, the second is translational research for innovative medicine, and the third is new technology for innovative medicine. This book helps to understand innovative medicine and to make progress in its realization.

This book was written by many outstanding investigators who have spent decades to study different aspects of blood‐tissue barrier function. They have summarized some of the latest and fascinating development in their fields of research including the blood‐brain barrier, the blood‐retinal barrier, the gut barrier, the blood‐biliary barrier, the blood‐follicle barrier, the blood‐epididymis barrier, the blood‐testis barrier, the tight junction barrier in general as well as barriers in the female reproductive tract. Included are also chapters that focus on topics that are physiologically applicable to all blood‐tissue barriers. Many of these chapters also include information on specific human diseases, such as pathological changes of the gut barrier that cause bowel disorders resulting from inflammation of the epithelial lining in the intestine, and infertility in men as a result of disruption of the blood‐epididymal and/or blood‐testis barriers; and on new therapeutic approaches (e.g., drug delivery across the blood‐brain and the blood‐retinal barriers).

Cells are by nature compelled to live in groups. They develop dependence over signaling cues received from their microenvironment, in particular from other cells, whether of their own “kind” or of a different type. Therefore, communicating with these cells is a critical aspect of their behavior and fate, as they live and die normally or as they undergo disease-related pathological changes, with dramatic repercussions. In this book, we have asked expert researchers in the field of Intercellular Communication in Cancer to provide chapters on different aspects of interaction between neighboring cells, in the context of cancer diseases. We have specifically focused our efforts on membrane-to-membrane contact-based rather than growth factors-mediated modes of intercellular communications. The contributing authors provide an extensive overview of their respective area of specialization, with an in-depth discussion of the molecular mechanisms of cell-cell interactions, the impact on tumor progression and response to therapies, as well as the cancer diagnostic value of this scientific information. This book aims to introduce essential aspects of the normal and pathological cellular fate and homeostasis to both scientists and clinicians, and also to provide established researchers with an update on the novelties and future directions this expanding field is witnessing.

Neighboring cells are linked to each other by multimolecular complexes such as adherens junctions, desmosomes, and gap junctions. These complexes help maintain tissue integrity, act as barriers to permeability, reinforce cell polarity, and allow cells to communicate with each other. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology reviews our understanding of the organization, regulation, and dynamics of cell-cell junctions and the roles they play in morphogenesis, tissue homeostasis, and disease. The contributors examine the assembly and structure of different cell-cell adhesion systems, the plasticity of cell-cell junctions (e.g., during cell migration), and how the junctions act as hubs to sense and transduce various mechanical and chemical signals. The authors also discuss the roles of cell-cell junctions in specific developmental and physiological processes, such as hearing, skeletal myogenesis, and neural circuit assembly, as well as in diseases such as cancer. This volume is therefore an indispensable reference for cell and developmental biologists, as well as anyone interested in understanding the roles of these complexes in human health and disease.

Most cancer deaths are a result of metastasis. The spread of a primary tumor to colonize neighboring and distant organs is the relentless endgame that defines the neoplastic process. Patients who have been diagnosed with cancer are treated to prevent both the recurrence of the tumor at the site of origin and metastasis that would re-stage them as advanced stage IV cancer. Historically and still with some types of cancer, stage IV is perceived by patients as “terminal.” Fortunately, recent molecular therapies have extended the lives of patients with advanced cancer and reassuringly people living with metastatic disease increasingly visit our clinics. What is the path forward? Given that the consilience of science and medicine is a dynamic art from which therapies arise, it would be misguided to consider any single work adequate at capturing the horizon for research. So with humility we constructed this text as primer for scientists. It begins with a broad introduction to the clinical management of common cancers. This is intended to serve as a foundation for investigators to consider when developing basic science hypotheses. Unquestionably, medical and surgical care of cancer patients reveals biology and dictates how novel therapeutics will ultimately be evaluated in clinical trials. The second section of this text offers provocative and evolving insights that underscore the breadth of science involved in the elucidation of cancer metastasis biology. The text concludes with information that integrates scientific and clinical foundations to highlight translational research. This book serves as a framework for scientists to conceptualize clinical and translational knowledge on the complexity of disease that is metastatic cancer.