since , on the one hand , the reacting material was confined to the apical surface when the tight junctions were closed ( in intact epithelial cells ) and since , on the other hand , the apical material was sliding down the laterobasal membranes when the tight junctions were opened ( in dissociated cells ) , it may be concluded that tight junctions contribute to maintain the cell surface specialization in epithelia .
C0242358
tight junctions
C0007634
the cell