Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
- Institution
- Publication
- File Type
Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Pkc Inhibition Increases Gap Junction Intercellular Communication And Cell Adhesion In Human Neuroblastoma, M. Morley, C. Jones, M. Sidhu, V. Gupta, S. Bernier, W. Rushlow, Daniel Belliveau
Pkc Inhibition Increases Gap Junction Intercellular Communication And Cell Adhesion In Human Neuroblastoma, M. Morley, C. Jones, M. Sidhu, V. Gupta, S. Bernier, W. Rushlow, Daniel Belliveau
Daniel J. Belliveau
Abstract Gap junction intercellular communication and cell–cell adhesion are essential for maintaining a normal cellular phenotype, including the control of growth and proliferation. Loss of either cell–cell adhesion or communication is common in cancers, while restoration of function is associated with tumor suppression. Protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes regulate a broad spectrum of cellular functions including growth and proliferation, and their overexpression has been correlated with carcinogenesis. Consequently, PKC inhibitors are currently undergoing clinical trials as an anti-cancer agents although the precise cellular alterations induced by PKC inhibitors remain to be elucidated. In the current study, the effects of PKC …
Protection Of Retinal Cells From Ischemia By A Novel Gap Junction Inhibitor, Satyabrata Das, Dingo Lin, Snehalata Jena, Aibin Shi, Srinivas Battina, Duy H. Hua, Rachel A. Allbaugh, Dolores J. Takemoto
Protection Of Retinal Cells From Ischemia By A Novel Gap Junction Inhibitor, Satyabrata Das, Dingo Lin, Snehalata Jena, Aibin Shi, Srinivas Battina, Duy H. Hua, Rachel A. Allbaugh, Dolores J. Takemoto
Rachel A. Allbaugh
Retinal cells which become ischemic will pass apoptotic signal to adjacent cells, resulting in the spread of damage. This occurs through open gap junctions. A class of novel drugs, based on primaquine (PQ), was tested for binding to connexin 43 using simulated docking studies. A novel drug has been synthesized and tested for inhibition of gap junction activity using R28 neuro-retinal cells in culture. Four drugs were initially compared to mefloquine, a known gap junction inhibitor. The drug with optimal inhibitory activity, PQ1, was tested for inhibition and was found to inhibit dye transfer by 70% at 10 μM. Retinal …
Nerve Growth Factor Increases Connexin43 Phosphorylation And Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication, P. Cushing, R. Bhalla, A. Johnson, W. Rushlow, S. Meakin, Daniel Belliveau
Nerve Growth Factor Increases Connexin43 Phosphorylation And Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication, P. Cushing, R. Bhalla, A. Johnson, W. Rushlow, S. Meakin, Daniel Belliveau
Daniel J. Belliveau
The function of gap junctions is regulated by the phosphorylation state of their connexin subunits. Numerous growth factors are known to regulate connexin phosphorylation; however, the effect of nerve growth factor on gap junction function is not understood. The phosphorylation of connexin subunits is a key event during many aspects of the lifecycle of a connexin, including open/close states, assembly/trafficking, and degradation, and thus affects the functionality of the channel. PC12 cells infected with connexin43 (Cx43) retrovirus were used as a neuronal model to characterize the signal transduction pathways activated by nerve growth factor (NGF) that potentially affect the functional …
Aggregated Dsred-Tagged Cx43 And Over-Expressed Cx43 Are Targeted To Lysosomes In Human Breast Cancer Cells, H. Qin, Q. Shao, Daniel Belliveau, D. Laird
Aggregated Dsred-Tagged Cx43 And Over-Expressed Cx43 Are Targeted To Lysosomes In Human Breast Cancer Cells, H. Qin, Q. Shao, Daniel Belliveau, D. Laird
Daniel J. Belliveau
To investigate if either wild-type or aggregated Cx43 is abnormally targeted to lysosomes in human breast tumor cells, we examined the fate of DsRed-tagged Cx43 and over-expressed Cx43 in communication-deficient HBL-100 and MDA-MB-231 cells. DsRed-tagged Cx43 was assembled into gap junctions in control normal rat kidney cells that express endogenous Cx43 but not in Cx43-negative HBL-100 cells. However, when HBL-100 cells were engineered to coexpress wild-type Cx43 a population of DsRed-tagged Cx43 was rescued and assembled into gap junctions. Co-expression of wild-type Cx26 failed to rescue the assembly of DsRed-tagged Cx43 into gap junctions. Immunolocalization studies revealed that DsRed-tagged Cx43 …
Differential Expression Of Gap Junctions In Neurons And Astrocytes Dervied From P19 Embryonal Carcinoma Cells, Daniel Belliveau, J. Bechberger, K. Rodgers, C. Naus
Differential Expression Of Gap Junctions In Neurons And Astrocytes Dervied From P19 Embryonal Carcinoma Cells, Daniel Belliveau, J. Bechberger, K. Rodgers, C. Naus
Daniel J. Belliveau
The P19 embryonal carcinoma cell line represents a pluripotential stem cell that can differentiate along the neural or muscle cell lineage when exposed to different environments. Exposure to retinoic acid induces P19 cells to differentiate into neurons and astrocytes that express similar developmental markers as their embryonic counterparts. We examined the expression of gap junction genes during differentiation of these stem cells into neurons and astrocytes. Untreated P19 cells express at least two gap junction proteins, connexins 26 and 43. Connexin32 could not be detected in these cells. Treatment for 96 hr with 0.3 mM retinoic acid induced the P19 …