Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
E. Anne Martin, Jennifer Carlisle Michel, Jane S. Kissinger, Fabio A. Echeverry, Ya-Ping Lin, John O'Brien, Alberto E. Pereda, Adam C. Miller
Summary: The subcellular positioning and molecular compositions of synapses are crucial for neural circuits. This study investigates the localization of the autism- and epilepsy-associated gene Neurobeachin, the Connexins, and the electrical synapse scaffold ZO1. It is found that Neurobeachin localizes to the electrical synapse independently, and its presence is necessary for the localization of ZO1 and Connexins. This research provides new insights into the molecular complexity and mechanisms of electrical synapse formation.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mauricio Serrano-Rubi, Lidia Jimenez, Jacqueline Martinez-Rendon, Marcelino Cereijido, Arturo Ponce
Summary: Gap junctional intercellular communication is reduced in cancer cells compared to normal cells, but the plant-derived substance ouabain enhances this communication in various cancer cell lines through signaling mechanisms involving Csrc, ErK1/2, and ROCK-Rho. This finding suggests a potential therapeutic strategy for influencing cancer progression.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Riccardo Serra, J. Marc Simard
Summary: This article reviews 45 research articles on intercellular junctions in the ependyma, indicating the important role of ependymal lining ultrastructure in fluid flow interactions in the brain. These findings have implications for understanding and treating CSF-related disorders.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jennifer Ortiz, Yuriy Bobkov, Melissa B. DeBiasse, Dorothy G. Mitchell, Allison Edgar, Mark Q. Martindale, Anthony G. Moss, Leslie S. Babonis, Joseph F. Ryan
Summary: This article investigates the innexin gene in four species of ctenophores and finds that these genes have evolved independently from those of other animals and were established early in the evolution of ctenophores. The study also shows that ctenophores have functional innexin hemichannels that are closely related to those of other animals. Overall, the results suggest that the last common ancestor of animals had channels capable of forming both gap junctions and innexin hemichannels, and that innexin genes have independently evolved in major lineages throughout Metazoa.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ishika Basu, Hanjun Li, Andrew J. Trease, Paul L. Sorgen
Summary: T and B cell receptor signaling activates Akt, MAPKs, PKC, intracellular Ca2+, and calmodulin. This process involves Src and the phosphorylation of Cx43 residues Y247, Y265, and Y313 by BTK and ITK. Overexpression of BTK or ITK leads to increased Cx43 phosphorylation and decreased gap junction communication in HEK-293T cells. Activation of B cell receptor or T cell receptor enhances BTK and ITK activity, resulting in decreased Cx43 phosphorylation and altered gap junction function.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eliseo Eugenin, Enrico Camporesi, Camillo Peracchia
Summary: The discovery of direct cell-cell communication has evolved through multiple stages, starting from invertebrates to vertebrates. Gap junction channels and membrane pores are important means of communication. Tunneling nanotubes can be used for the treatment of incurable diseases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Aylesse Sordillo, Cornelia Bargmann
Summary: In this study, the role of RIM interneurons in C. elegans locomotion was uncovered, showing that RIM acts differently in different states, lengthening reversals when depolarized through glutamate and tyramine neurotransmitters and lengthening forward runs when hyperpolarized through its gap junctions. Additionally, the combined outputs of chemical synapses and gap junctions from RIM regulate forward-to-reversal transitions. Multiple classes of RIM synapses create behavioral inertia during spontaneous locomotion.
Review
Biology
Yu-Han Guo, Yi-Qing Yang
Summary: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a global medical problem that contributes to significant morbidity, mortality, and socioeconomic burden. Gap junctions and their constituent proteins, connexins, play important roles in the pathogenesis of AF by disrupting the electrical coupling between cardiomyocytes through changes in connexin distribution and protein levels, increasing susceptibility to AF. Multiple pathogenic mutations or polymorphisms in connexins have been found to be associated with AF. Therefore, connexins may serve as important molecular targets for the treatment of AF.
Article
Oncology
Ke Gong, Qingqi Hong, Huiwen Wu, Fen Wang, Linhai Zhong, Lingjia Shen, Piao Xu, Wenqing Zhang, Hanwei Cao, Yan-yan Zhan, Tianhui Hu, Xiaoting Hong
Summary: In vivo tumor growth is characterized by a necrotic core generated by oxygen and nutrients gradients, which can also be observed in in vitro three-dimensional tumor spheroids. Gap junctions play a critical role in cancer development, and this study found that the connexin 43 (Cx43) protein reduces the area of necrotic core in colon cancer 3D spheroids, promoting tumor growth advantage. This effect is dependent on gap junction channel functions, and the enhanced glucose uptake and altered signaling pathways contribute to the increased ATP content and oxygen consumption rate. The study also revealed a heterogeneous expression pattern of Cx43 in colon cancer compared to normal tissue, and higher levels of Cx43 are associated with worse clinical outcomes. These findings suggest a novel role of connexin in tumor growth and provide insights into the metabolic needs of solid tumors.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ramona Matuseviciute, Egle Ignataviciute, Rokas Mickus, Sergio Bordel, Vytenis Arvydas Skeberdis, Vytautas Raskevicius
Summary: This study used molecular docking, QSAR, and 3D-QSAR to evaluate known Cx43 GJ inhibitors and identified a potential inhibitor - d-limonene. Experimental validation showed a good correlation between predicted and experimental inhibitory concentrations.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daniela Baracaldo-Santamaria, Maria Gabriela Corrales-Hernandez, Maria Camila Ortiz-Vergara, Valeria Cormane-Alfaro, Ricardo-Miguel Luque-Bernal, Carlos-Alberto Calderon-Ospina, Juan-Fernando Cediel-Becerra
Summary: Cell-to-cell communication is crucial for embryonic development and dysfunction of connexins (Cxs) and pannexins (Panxs) can lead to diseases. Cxs play a pivotal role in embryogenesis and have been linked to both congenital and adult neurodegenerative diseases. Panxs, despite being structurally similar to Cxs, predominantly form channels connecting the cytoplasm to the extracellular space. Both Cxs and Panxs are involved in various stages of neuronal development in the nervous system.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Selma Cetin-Ferra, Sharon C. Francis, Anthonya T. Cooper, Kit Neikirk, Andrea G. Marshall, Antentor Hinton Jr, Sandra A. A. Murray
Summary: Mitochondria contain connexins that form gap junction channels, playing a role in cell-cell communication. However, connexins in mitochondria have also been found to assemble into hemichannels and may be involved in regulating mitochondrial functions such as potassium fluxes and respiration. However, the presence and function of mitochondrial connexins are still poorly understood. Understanding the significance of mitochondrial connexins and their contact sites is crucial for developing therapeutic interventions in mitochondria-related diseases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alejandro Ogazon del Toro, Lidia Jimenez, Mauricio Serrano Rubi, Marcelino Cereijido, Arturo Ponce
Summary: The study shows that ouabain can enhance intercellular communication indirectly by promoting the production of PGE2, which acts independently of Na+-K+-ATPase. This mechanism was demonstrated in mixed monolayers of MDCK-S and MDCK-I cells, providing evidence for the role of PGE2 in communication between cells with different sensitivities to ouabain.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chen Ni, Xiaohan Lou, Xiaohan Yao, Linlin Wang, Jiajia Wan, Xixi Duan, Jialu Liang, Kaili Zhang, Yuanyuan Yang, Li Zhang, Chanjun Sun, Zhenzhen Li, Ming Wang, Linyu Zhu, Dekang Lv, Zhihai Qin
Summary: This study reveals a mechanism by which a subset of zinc-transporter positive cancer-associated fibroblasts directly interacts with lung cancer cells through gap junctions, promoting chemoresistance in tumors. This finding provides insights into the role of fibroblast-tumor cell interactions in lung cancer chemo-resistance.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Sebastian Loyola, Tycho M. Hoogland, Hugo Hoedemaker, Vincenzo Romano, Mario Negrello, Chris I. De Zeeuw
Summary: This study investigates the interaction between inhibitory and excitatory inputs to inferior olive neurons, finding that the timing between these inputs determines the output pattern of the neurons. Activating the excitatory input shortly after the inhibitory input leads to unstable phase of intrinsic oscillations and minimal output, while activating the excitatory input one cycle after the inhibitory input optimally drives spiking activity. A large-scale network model simulation highlights the extent to which synaptic interactions generate oscillatory patterns in the inferior olive.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Takaaki Miyazaki, Tzu-Yang Lin, Kei Ito, Chi-Hon Lee, Mark Stopfer
JOURNAL OF NEUROGENETICS
(2015)
Article
Neurosciences
Sam Reiter, Chelsey Campillo Rodriguez, Kui Sun, Mark Stopfer
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2015)
Article
Neurosciences
Zane N. Aldworth, Mark A. Stopfer
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2015)
Article
Neurosciences
Sachiko Murase, Crystal L. Lantz, Eunyoung Kim, Nitin Gupta, Richard Higgins, Mark Stopfer, Dax A. Hoffman, Elizabeth M. Quinlan
MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Neurosciences
Stephen J. Huston, Mark Stopfer, Stijn Cassenaer, Zane N. Aldworth, Gilles Laurent
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Tiffany Kee, Pavel Sanda, Nitin Gupta, Mark Stopfer, Maxim Bazhenov
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2015)
Article
Neurosciences
Pavel Sanda, Tiffany Kee, Nitin Gupta, Mark Stopfer, Maxim Bazhenov
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nitin Gupta, Swikriti Saran Singh, Mark Stopfer
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2016)
Article
Neurosciences
Kazumichi Shimizu, Mark Stopfer
FRONTIERS IN NEURAL CIRCUITS
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alejandra Boronat-Garcia, Sam Reiter, Kui Sun, Mark Stopfer
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2017)
Article
Biology
Subhasis Ray, Zane N. Aldworth, Mark A. Stopfer
Article
Ecology
Subhasis Ray, Mark A. Stopfer
Summary: Automatic tracking of multiple animals is important for studying behaviors, but it is challenging due to issues like discontinuities in animal motion. The software toolkit Argos addresses these challenges by providing tools for compressing videos, generating training sets for a neural network, tracking animals in videos, and facilitating manual review and correction of tracks. Argos can help reduce the data storage and analysis workload, speed up the analysis process, and enable tracking of markerless animals in complex environments for extended periods.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biology
Brian Kim, Seth Haney, Ana P. Milan, Shruti Joshi, Zane Aldworth, Nikolai Rulkov, Alexander T. Kim, Maxim Bazhenov, Mark A. Stopfer
Summary: Odorants binding to olfactory receptor neurons trigger distinct response motifs, which can switch and adapt when activated repeatedly. These motifs provide benefits for classifying and processing odors, and contribute to the encoding of odor plume composition and structure. Multiple motifs and motif switching further improve odor classification and can be useful for olfactory navigation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Subhasis Ray, Kui Sun, Mark Stopfer
Summary: Through behavioral tests, it was found that newly hatched locusts have a strong innate preference for the odor of wheat grass and avoid certain components of the food blend odor. Tracking their positions revealed that the valence of the food odor blend's individual components may vary depending on the concentration.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Takashi Baba, Alejandro Alvarez-Prats, Yeun Ju Kim, Daniel Abebe, Steve Wilson, Zane Aldworth, Mark A. Stopfer, John Heuser, Tamas Balla
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2020)
