Abstract Activation and proliferation of antigen specific T cells depends on the interaction multiple signaling molecules with TCR/CD3 complex. We report that expression connexin 43 (Cx43), a gap junction protein, is critical for expansion antigen-specific or self-reactive effector CD4 +T cells. While mediated intercellular communication has been main focus research, cytoplasmic C-terminus Cx43...

Impaired expression of connexins, the gap junction subunits that facilitate direct cell-cell communication, have been implicated in prostate cancer growth. To elucidate the crucial role of connexins in prostate cancer progression, we performed a systematic quantitative RT-PCR screening of connexin expression in four representative prostate cancer cell lines across the spectrum of malignancy. Tr...

Sympathetic neurons regenerating in culture were studied in order to gain further insight into the intracellular distribution and phosphorylation of GAP-43, a protein that has been suggested to have a role in axonal outgrowth and neuronal plasticity (Willard et al., 1987). Superior cervical ganglion neurons from embryonic rats were highly reactive with a polyclonal antibody against the growth-a...

We have found that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), applied to cortical progenitor cells in vitro, produces an increase in the expression of the gap junction protein connexin (Cx) 43 and in the mRNA encoding Cx 43. This effect was evident in both proliferating and nonproliferating cells. The elevated levels of mRNA suggest that bFGF is likely to exert its effect by upregulating the rate o...

The matrix metalloproteinases MMP-9 and MMP-2, major modulators of the extracellular matrix (ECM), were changed in amount and distribution in the rat anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) following its sensory deafferentation by cochlear ablation. To determine what causal relationships exist between the redistribution of MMP-9 and MMP-2 and deafferentation-induced reinnervation, kainic acid was...

The KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KSRP) promotes the decay of AU-rich element (ARE)-containing mRNAs. Although KSRP is expressed in the nervous system, very little is known about its role in neurons. In this study, we examined whether KSRP regulates the stability of the ARE-containing GAP-43 mRNA. We found that KSRP destabilizes this mRNA by binding to its ARE, a process that requires th...

A 43-year-old man presented to the emergency department (ED) 2 h after ingesting 10 oz of antifreeze mixed with Gatorade in a suicide attempt. The antifreeze was green, of an unknown brand, and purchased at a local gas station. He subsequently confessed to his wife, who brought him to a community hospital ED. He denied abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, urinary symptoms, or visual changes. Initi...

Although the function of astrocytic gap junctions under ischemia is still under debate, increased expression of connexin 43 (Cx43) has been observed in ischemic brain lesions, suggesting that astrocytic gap junctions could provide neuronal protection against ischemic insult. Moreover, different connexin subtypes may play different roles in pathological conditions. We used immunohistochemical an...

In 1995 and 1997 we proposed that gap junctions between stromal and hematopoietic cells formed by connexin43 (Cx43) determine hematopoiesis. If this were the case, are the critical gap junctions in this regard those between hematopoietic and stromal cells, or those between stromal cells alone? To test the first possibility, we compared hematopoietic repopulating capacity between fetal liver hem...

Glial cells, and in particular astrocytes, are crucial to maintain neuronal microenvironment by regulating energy metabolism, neurotransmitter uptake, gliotransmission, and synaptic development. Moreover, a typical feature of astrocytes is their high expression level of connexins, a family of membrane proteins that form gap junction channels allowing intercellular exchanges and hemichannels tha...