Expression and role of connexin-based gap junctions in pulmonary inflammatory diseases

Article ID	Journal	Published Year	Pages	File Type
5843876	Pharmacology & Therapeutics	2016	15 Pages	PDF

Abstract

The present review describes connexin structure and organization in gap junctions. It focuses on connexins in the lung, including pulmonary bronchial and arterial beds, by looking at their expression, regulation and physiological functions. This work also addresses the issue of connexin expression alteration in various pulmonary inflammatory diseases and describes how targeting connexin-based gap junctions with pharmacological tools, synthetic blocking peptides or genetic approaches, may open new therapeutic perspectives in the treatment of these diseases.

Keywords

CK1 cGMP MCT monocrotaline pKa IP3 CFTR PKC inositol triphosphate NF-κB connexins PDE5 CD73 Th2 cdc2 PASMC PAEC TGF-β 5-HT shRNA ADMA LPS MEF2 PAH 5-hydroxytryptamine or serotonin cAMP MAPK short interfering RNA short hairpin RNA ROS siRNA VE-cadherin Cyclic adenosine monophosphate gap junctions inflammation Vascular endothelial-cadherin transforming growth factor-β tumor necrosis factor-α asymmetric dimethylarginine cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator Lung cell division cycle 2 pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells Pulmonary artery endothelial cells zonula occludens TNF-α nuclear factor-κB Phosphodiesterase 5 Pulmonary arterial hypertension lipopolysaccharide cyclic guanosine monophosphate Nitric oxide Chronic hypoxia hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction HPV Pulmonary hypertension protein kinase A Protein kinase C mitogen-activated protein kinase casein kinase 1 connexin Reactive oxygen species