PURPOSE Microvascular damage caused by diabetes is a leading cause of visual loss. Identifying events early in the course of diabetic retinopathy may help in understanding and, perhaps, preventing this disorder. The hypothesis that cell-to-cell communication within the retinal microvasculature may be affected soon after the onset of diabetes was tested. METHODS Streptozotocin was used to indu...

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), an aggressive form of adult brain tumor, is difficult to treat due to its invasive nature. One of the molecular changes observed in GBM is a decrease in the expression of the gap junction protein Connexin43 (Cx43); however, how a reduction in Cx43 expression contributes to glioma malignancy is still unclear. In this study we examine whether a decrease in Cx43 prot...

Our objective was to establish the existence of intercellular communication through gap junctions in synovial lining cells and in primary and passaged cultures of human synovial cells. Communication between cells was assessed using the nystatin perforated-patch method, fluorescent dye transfer, immunochemistry, transmission electron microscopy, and immunoblotting. Functional gap junctions were ...

We studied the effect of extremely low frequency (ELF) currents on gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) mediated by connexin43 protein. Confluent monolayers of synovial fibroblasts (HIG-82) and neuroblastoma cells (5Y) were exposed in bath solution to 0-75 mA/m(2) (0-56 mV/m), 60 Hz. Single channel conductance, cell membrane current-voltage (I-V) curves, and Ca(2+) influx were measur...

Head and neck tumors are one of the major public health problem all over the world. Cellular response of larynx carcinoma to cisplatin (CDDP) chemotherapy occurs both in cell-interdependent and cell-autonomous pathways. In the first pathway, cytotoxic signal transduction is mediated via gap-junctional intercellular communication (GIJC). CDDP also influence tumor cell migration.The aim of this s...

Donahue, Henry J., Zhongyong Li, Zhiyi Zhou, and Clare E. Yellowley. Differentiation of human fetal osteoblastic cells and gap junctional intercellular communication. Am. J. Physiol. Cell Physiol. 278: C315–C322, 2000.—Gap junctional channels facilitate intercellular communication and in doing so may contribute to cellular differentiation. To test this hypothesis, we examined gap junction expre...

Immune cells are usually considered non-attached blood cells, which would exclude the formation of gap junctions. This is a misconception since many immune cells express connexin 43 (Cx43) and other connexins and are often residing in tissue. The role of gap junctions is largely ignored by immunologists as is the immune system in the field of gap junction research. Here, the current knowledge o...