TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of gap junction channels during physiologic and pathologic conditions of the human central nervous system
AU - Eugenin, Eliseo A.
AU - Basilio, Daniel
AU - Sáez, Juan C.
AU - Orellana, Juan A.
AU - Raine, Cedric S.
AU - Bukauskas, Feliksas
AU - Bennett, Michael V.L.
AU - Berman, Joan W.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments We apologize to the authors and groups whose work we did not cite due to limitations on the numbers of references. This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health grants (MH076679 and MH096625 to E.A.E. and MH075679 and MH083497 to J.W.B.) and by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS072238 to FFB, and NS55363 to M.V.L.B, who is the Sylvia and Robert S. Olnick Professor of Neuroscience). We thank the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Grant RG-1001-K-11 and CSR was the Wollowick Family Foundation Professor for Multiple Sclerosis Research (to Dr. Cedric Raine). We thank the NIH Centers for AIDS Research Grant (CFAR) AI-051519, Anillo ATC-71 (JCS) and Centro interdisciplinario de Neurociencias P09-022-F (to JCS) and a CFAR pilot project at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
PY - 2012/9
Y1 - 2012/9
N2 - Gap junctions (GJs) are expressed in most cell types of the nervous system, including neuronal stem cells, neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, cells of the blood brain barrier (endothelial cells and astrocytes) and under inflammatory conditions in microglia/macrophages. GJs connect cells by the docking of two hemichannels, one from each cell with each hemichannel being formed by 6 proteins named connexins (Cx). Unapposed hemichannels (uHC) also can be open on the surface of the cells allowing the release of different intracellular factors to the extracellular space. GJs provide a mechanism of cell-to-cell communication between adjacent cells that enables the direct exchange of intracellular messengers, such as calcium, nucleotides, IP3, and diverse metabolites, as well as electrical signals that ultimately coordinate tissue homeostasis, proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, cell survival and death. Despite their essential functions in physiological conditions, relatively little is known about the role of GJs and uHC in human diseases, especiallywithin the nervous system. The focus of this review is to summarize recent findings related to the role of GJs and uHC in physiologic and pathologic conditions of the central nervous system.
AB - Gap junctions (GJs) are expressed in most cell types of the nervous system, including neuronal stem cells, neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, cells of the blood brain barrier (endothelial cells and astrocytes) and under inflammatory conditions in microglia/macrophages. GJs connect cells by the docking of two hemichannels, one from each cell with each hemichannel being formed by 6 proteins named connexins (Cx). Unapposed hemichannels (uHC) also can be open on the surface of the cells allowing the release of different intracellular factors to the extracellular space. GJs provide a mechanism of cell-to-cell communication between adjacent cells that enables the direct exchange of intracellular messengers, such as calcium, nucleotides, IP3, and diverse metabolites, as well as electrical signals that ultimately coordinate tissue homeostasis, proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, cell survival and death. Despite their essential functions in physiological conditions, relatively little is known about the role of GJs and uHC in human diseases, especiallywithin the nervous system. The focus of this review is to summarize recent findings related to the role of GJs and uHC in physiologic and pathologic conditions of the central nervous system.
KW - Alzheimer
KW - Connexin
KW - Disease
KW - HIV
KW - Hemichannels
KW - NeuroAIDS
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84866064720&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84866064720&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11481-012-9352-5
DO - 10.1007/s11481-012-9352-5
M3 - Review article
C2 - 22438035
AN - SCOPUS:84866064720
SN - 1557-1890
VL - 7
SP - 499
EP - 518
JO - Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology
JF - Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology
IS - 3
ER -