TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of connexins in controlling cell growth and gene expression
AU - Kardami, Elissavet
AU - Dang, Xitong
AU - Iacobas, Dumitru A.
AU - Nickel, Barbara E.
AU - Jeyaraman, Madhumathy
AU - Srisakuldee, Wattamon
AU - Makazan, Janna
AU - Tanguy, Stephane
AU - Spray, David C.
N1 - Funding Information:
Work was supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (EK, XD, BEN, MJ, WS, JM) and by the National Institutes of Health (DAI, DCS).
PY - 2007/5
Y1 - 2007/5
N2 - The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of current thinking on the role of connexins, in particular Cx43, in growth regulation, and a more detailed discussion as to potential mechanisms involved with an emphasis on gene expression. While the precise molecular mechanism by which connexins can affect the growth of normal or tumor cells remains elusive, a number of exciting reports have expanded our understanding and are presented in some detail. Thus, we will discuss (Section 2): the role of protein-protein interactions in integrating connexins into multiple signal transduction pathways; phosphorylation at specific sites and reversal of growth inhibition; the role of the carboxy-terminal regulatory domain as a signaling molecule. Some of our latest work on the potential functions of endogenously produced carboxy-terminal fragments of Cx43 are also presented (Section 3). Finally, Section 4 will pay tribute to the rapidly emerging realization that connexins such as Cx43 and Cx32 exert important and extensive effects on gene expression, particularly those genes linked to growth regulation.
AB - The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of current thinking on the role of connexins, in particular Cx43, in growth regulation, and a more detailed discussion as to potential mechanisms involved with an emphasis on gene expression. While the precise molecular mechanism by which connexins can affect the growth of normal or tumor cells remains elusive, a number of exciting reports have expanded our understanding and are presented in some detail. Thus, we will discuss (Section 2): the role of protein-protein interactions in integrating connexins into multiple signal transduction pathways; phosphorylation at specific sites and reversal of growth inhibition; the role of the carboxy-terminal regulatory domain as a signaling molecule. Some of our latest work on the potential functions of endogenously produced carboxy-terminal fragments of Cx43 are also presented (Section 3). Finally, Section 4 will pay tribute to the rapidly emerging realization that connexins such as Cx43 and Cx32 exert important and extensive effects on gene expression, particularly those genes linked to growth regulation.
KW - Cell proliferation
KW - Connexins
KW - Gene expression
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2007.03.009
DO - 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2007.03.009
M3 - Review article
C2 - 17462721
AN - SCOPUS:34249110604
SN - 0079-6107
VL - 94
SP - 245
EP - 264
JO - Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology
JF - Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology
IS - 1-2
ER -