There are many cells with various phenotypic behaviors in cancer. These cells with different phenotypic behaviors have interaction with each other. For example, an apoptotic cell may induce apoptosis to adjacent cells (called kiss of death or bystander effect). A living cell (i.e., a non-apoptotic and nonnecrotic cell) can also protect cells from undergoing apoptosis and necrosis (called kiss o...

Congenital hearing loss with many genetic and environmental causes affects 1 in 1000 newborns. Mutations in the GJB2(Gap Junction Beta-2) gene encoding the gap junction protein connexin 26 have been established as the main cause of autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing loss. The aim of this study was to study the frequency of one mutation (35delG) of GJB2 gene in Kerman non-syndromic deaf p...

Osteocytes embedded in the matrix of bone are thought to be mechanosensory cells that translate mechanical strain into biochemical signals that regulate bone modeling and remodeling. We have shown previously that fluid flow shear stress dramatically induces prostaglandin release and COX-2 mRNA expression in osteocyte-like MLO-Y4 cells, and that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) released by these cells fu...

Appropriate selection of scaffold architecture is a key challenge in cartilage tissue engineering. Gap junction-mediated intercellular contacts play important roles in precartilage condensation of mesenchymal cells. However, scaffold architecture could potentially restrict cell-cell communication and differentiation. This is particularly important when choosing the appropriate culture platform ...

In different epithelia, cell membranes contacting one another form intercellular junctional complexes including tight, adherens and gap junctions, which could mutually influence the expression of each other. We have here investigated the role of Cx43 in the control of adherens and tight junction proteins (N-cadherin, beta-catenin, occludin and ZO-1) by using conditional Sertoli cell knockout Cx...

Gap junction channels are sites of cytoplasmic communication between contacting cells. In vertebrates, they consist of protein subunits denoted connexins (Cxs) which are encoded by a gene family. According to their Cx composition, gap junction channels show different gating and permeability properties that define which ions and small molecules permeate them. Differences in Cx primary sequences ...

Osteoblasts are highly coupled by gap junctions formed by connexin43. Overexpression of connexin45 in osteoblasts results in decreased chemical and electrical coupling and reduces gene transcription from connexin response elements (CxREs) in the osteocalcin and collagen Ialpha1 promoters. Here, we demonstrate that transcription from the gap junction-dependent osteocalcin CxRE is regulated by ex...

The ability to communicate is an important feature of multicellularity (Hervé et al., 2005). The coordinated integration of extracellular, intracellular, and intercellular mechanisms promotes the maintenance of homeostasis in higher organisms. Direct intercellular communication is mainly mediated by gap junction channels, which are formed by members of the connexin protein family in vertebrates...

To evaluate the changes in intercellular communication through gap junctions in detrusor overactivity (DO), we studied 23 adult female Wistar rats with DO after partial outflow obstruction (DO group) and 13 sham-operated rats (control group). The two groups were compared by means of urodynamics, light and electron microscopy, expression of Cx40, Cx43, and Cx45 mRNA genes with RT-PCR, Cx43 prote...

Oculodentodigital dysplasia (ODDD) is mainly an autosomal dominant human disease caused by mutations in the GJA1 gene, which encodes the gap junction protein connexin43 (Cx43). Surprisingly, there have been two autosomal recessive mutations reported that cause ODDD: a single amino acid substitution (R76H) and a premature truncation mutation (R33X). When expressed in either gap junctional interc...