The turnover of connexin 43 (Cx43) is very rapid in many cells and involves both the lysosomal and proteasomal protease pathways. Here we show that Ca(2+)-mobilizing agonists such as angiotensin II (Ang II) can up-regulate the expression of Cx43 in WB rat liver epithelial cells. Vasopressin had the same effect in A7R5 smooth-muscle cells. The effect of Ang II was not prevented by pretreatment w...

Gap junctions are membrane specialization domains identified in most tissue types where cells abut each other. The connexin channels found in these membrane domains are conduits for direct cell-to-cell transfer of ions and molecules. Connexin43 (Cx43) is the most ubiquitous connexin, with critical roles in heart, skin, and brain. Several studies described the interaction between Cx43 and the cy...

Although there are currently 62 mutants of Cx43 (connexin43) that can cause ODDD (oculodentodigital dysplasia), only two mutants have also been reported to cause palmar plantar hyperkeratosis. To determine how mutants of Cx43 can lead to this skin disease, REKs (rat epidermal keratinocytes) were engineered to express an ODDD-associated Cx43 mutant always linked to skin disease (fs260), an ODDD-...

Ischemic preconditioning (PC) suppresses chemical coupling of cardiomyocytes via gap junctions (GJs) during ischemia, which is an adjunct mechanism of protection. The aim of this study was to characterize roles of protein kinases in PC-induced GJ modulation. In isolated rat hearts, ventricular tissues were sampled before and after ischemia with or without PC, and intercalated disc-rich fraction...

Connexin43 (Cx43) has been reported to interact with caveolin (Cav)-1, but the role of this association and whether other members of the caveolin family bind Cx43 had yet to be established. In this study, we show that Cx43 coimmunoprecipitates and colocalizes with Cav-1 and Cav-2 in rat epidermal keratinocytes. The colocalization of Cx43 with Cav-1 was confirmed in keratinocytes from human epid...

BACKGROUND MicroRNA-206 (miR-206) and connexin 43 (Cx43) are related with the distant metastasis of breast cancer. It remains unclear whether the regulatory effect of miR-206 on Cx43 is involved in metastasis of breast cancer. METHODS Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, the expressions of miR-206 and Cx43 were determined in breast cancer tissues, hepatic a...

Immunocytochemical data demonstrate that the distribution of gap junction connexin43 (Cx43) in rodent testes is dependent on cell type, testis maturation, and stage of the mature seminiferous epithelium. Western blotting and indirect immunofluorescence microscopy using anti-peptide antisera to Cx43 revealed abundant Cx43 in rat and mouse testes and mouse TM3 and TM4 cells. Cx43 mRNA was detecte...

Reduced connexin (Cx) 43 gene expression has been shown in most of lung tumors and cancer cell lines. Although aberrant Cx43 gene expression was linked with lung tumorigenesis, our understanding to the mechanism was still limited. We hypothesized that the evidence of aberrant Cx43 gene expression was gradually intensified from adjacent normal lung tissues surrounding tumors toward tumor tissues...

AIMS We previously showed decreased cellular coupling and dephosphorylation of the gap junctional protein connexin 43 (Cx43) in left ventricular (LV) myocytes from an arrhythmogenic rabbit model of non-ischaemic heart failure (HF) that was associated with a 2.5-fold increase in the amount of protein phosphatase type 2A (PP2A) co-localized with Cx43. Here, we further explore the molecular mechan...

Endothelial barrier restoration reverses microvessel hyperpermeability and facilitates recovery from lung injury. Because inhibiting connexin 43 (Cx43)-dependent interendothelial communication blunts hyperpermeability in single microvessels, we determined whether endothelial Cx43 levels correlate with changes in microvessel permeability during recovery from lung injury. Toward this, bacterial e...