Bladder voiding dysfunction is closely related to local oxidation, inflammation, and enhanced channel activities. Given that the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and channel-inhibiting properties, we examined whether and how AMPK affected bladder activity. AMPK activation in rat bladder smooth muscle cells (BSMCs) using three different AMPK agonists resu...

Connexin 43 (Cx43) is a dynamic molecule, having a short half-life of only a few hours. In this study, we use fluorescent-protein-tagged Cx43 variants to examine Cx43 delivery to the cell surface, its residency status in various cell-surface membrane domains and its mobility characteristics. Rapid time-lapse imaging led to the identification of Cx43 being delivered to cell-surface domains that ...

Connexin 43 (Cx43), the most widely expressed gap junction protein, has a role in regulation of cell growth. In this study, we demonstrate that the point mutations F199L, R202E, and E205R in the second extracellular region of Cx43 prevent localization of the mutant proteins to the plasma membrane. The mutants were aberrantly localized in the cytoplasm if expressed in HeLa cells, which lack Cx43...

Connexin (Cx) hemichannels regulate many cellular processes with little information available regarding their mechanisms. Given that many pathological factors that activate hemichannels also disrupts the integrity of cellular junctions, we speculated a potential participation of hemichannels in the regulation of cell junctions. Here we tested this hypothesis. Exposure of renal tubular epithelia...

AIMS More than 40 mutations in the GJA1 gene encoding connexin43 (Cx43) have been linked to oculodentodigital dysplasia (ODDD), a pleiotropic, autosomal dominant disorder. We hypothesized that even with a significant reduction in the levels of Cx43 in a mutant mouse model of ODDD (Gja1(Jrt/+)) harbouring a G60S mutation (Cx43(G60S)), cardiomyocyte function may only be moderately compromised giv...

Connexin 43 (Cx43) is expressed in the embryonic heart, cardiac neural crest (CNC) and neural tube, and germline knockout (KO) of Cx43 results in aberrant cardiac outflow tract (OFT) formation and abnormal coronary deployment. Prior studies suggest a vital role for CNC expression of Cx43 in heart development. Surprisingly, we found that conditional knockout (CKO) of Cx43 in the dorsal neural tu...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to define the role of cell-cell coupling as an independent determinant of infarct size following coronary occlusion. BACKGROUND Electrical uncoupling induced by acute ischemia enhances arrhythmogenesis, but it may also protect the heart by limiting intercellular spread of chemical mediators of injury. METHODS The left anterior descending coronary art...

Connexin 43 (Cx43) and aquaporin-4 (AQP4) have important roles in the formation of glioma-induced brain edema; however, the association between these two factors in the development of edema has remained to be elucidated. In the present study, immunofluorescence and western blot analysis revealed that in a rat model of intracranial C6 glioma, Cx43 expression levels were low to undetectable and A...

Vincristine (VCR), an alkaloid isolated from vinca, is a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug. However, VCR therapy can lead to dose-dependent peripheral neurotoxicity, mainly manifesting as neuropathic pain, which one of the dominant reasons for limiting its utility. Experimentally, we discovered that VCR-induced pain (VINP) was accompanied by astrocyte activation; upregulation phospho-CaMKII (...