Tight junctions (TJs) of vertebrate epithelial cells are involved in the regulation of different signalling pathways, leading to modulation of cell proliferation and gene expression. ZO proteins (ZO-1, ZO-2 and ZO-3) have been implicated in the regulation of cell proliferation, and of transcription of cell-cycle-associated genes, through different mechanisms. ZO-1 interacts with the transcription factor DbpA/ZONAB, which controls the expression of proliferation-associated genes such as cyclin-D1, PCNA and ErbB2. Our results indicate that not only ZO-1, but all the three ZO proteins redundantly control the junctional retention and stability of DbpA/ZONAB. Moreover the junctional recruitment of DbpA depend on ZO proteins conformation: full- length ZO proteins may exist in two conformations (“stretched” and folded), and DbpA only binds to ZO proteins in vivo when they are stretched by the mechanical tension generated by the actomyosin cytoskeleton