1. Structure, regulation and function of gap junctions in liver
- Author
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Joost Willebrords, Luc Leybaert, Michaël Maes, Mathieu Vinken, Isabel Veloso Alves Pereira, Elke Decrock, Sara Crespo Yanguas, Tereza Cristina da Silva, Bruno Cogliati, Hartmut Jaeschke, Nan Wang, Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Toxicology, Dermato-cosmetology and Pharmacognosy, Connexin Signalling Research Group, Liver Connexin and Pannexin Research Group, and Experimental in vitro toxicology and dermato-cosmetology
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Cell signaling ,connexin ,Clinical Biochemistry ,Connexin ,Cell Communication ,Biology ,liver ,Connexins ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Cell–cell interaction ,Animals ,Humans ,Epigenetics ,gap junctions ,Cell growth ,FÍGADO (CITOLOGIA) ,Cell Cycle ,Gap junction ,Cell Biology ,General Medicine ,Cell cycle ,Cell biology ,030104 developmental biology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Hepatocytes ,Intracellular - Abstract
Gap junctions are a specialized group of cell-to-cell junctions that mediate direct intercellular communication between cells. They arise from the interaction of two hemichannels of adjacent cells, which in turn are composed of six connexin proteins. In liver, gap junctions are predominantly found in hepatocytes and play critical roles in virtually all phases of the hepatic life cycle, including cell growth, differentiation, liver-specific functionality and cell death. Liver gap junctions are directed through a broad variety of mechanisms ranging from epigenetic control of connexin expression to post-translational regulation of gap junction activity. This paper reviews established and novel aspects regarding the architecture, control and functional relevance of liver gap junctions.
- Published
- 2015