TY - JOUR
T1 - Functional implications of calcium permeability of the channel formed by pannexin 1
AU - Vanden Abeele, Fabien
AU - Bidaux, Gabriel
AU - Gordienko, Dmitri
AU - Beck, Benjamin
AU - Panchin, Yuri V.
AU - Baranova, Ancha V.
AU - Ivanov, Dmitry V.
AU - Skryma, Roman
AU - Prevarskaya, Natalia
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2006/8/14
Y1 - 2006/8/14
N2 - Although human pannexins (PanX) are homologous to gap junction molecules, their physiological function in vertebrates remains poorly understood. Our results demonstrate that overexpression of PanX1 results in the formation of Ca2+-permeable gap junction channels between adjacent cells, thus, allowing direct intercellular Ca2+ diffusion and facilitating inter cellular Ca2+ wave propagation. More intriguingly, our results strongly suggest that PanX1 may also form Ca2+-permeable channels in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These channels contribute to the ER Ca 2+ leak and thereby affect the ER Ca2+ load. Because leakage remains the most enigmatic of those processes involved in intracellular calcium homeostasis, and the molecular nature of the leak channels is as yet unknown, the results of this work provide new insight into calcium signaling mechanisms. These results imply that for vertebrates, a new protein family, referred to as pannexins, may not simply duplicate the connexin function but may also provide additional pathways for intra- and intercellular calcium signaling and homeostasis.
AB - Although human pannexins (PanX) are homologous to gap junction molecules, their physiological function in vertebrates remains poorly understood. Our results demonstrate that overexpression of PanX1 results in the formation of Ca2+-permeable gap junction channels between adjacent cells, thus, allowing direct intercellular Ca2+ diffusion and facilitating inter cellular Ca2+ wave propagation. More intriguingly, our results strongly suggest that PanX1 may also form Ca2+-permeable channels in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These channels contribute to the ER Ca 2+ leak and thereby affect the ER Ca2+ load. Because leakage remains the most enigmatic of those processes involved in intracellular calcium homeostasis, and the molecular nature of the leak channels is as yet unknown, the results of this work provide new insight into calcium signaling mechanisms. These results imply that for vertebrates, a new protein family, referred to as pannexins, may not simply duplicate the connexin function but may also provide additional pathways for intra- and intercellular calcium signaling and homeostasis.
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U2 - 10.1083/jcb.200601115
DO - 10.1083/jcb.200601115
M3 - Article
C2 - 16908669
AN - SCOPUS:33747160473
VL - 174
SP - 535
EP - 546
JO - Journal of Cell Biology
JF - Journal of Cell Biology
SN - 0021-9525
IS - 4
ER -