title: Gap junctional intercellular communication of cultured rat liver parenchymal cells is stabilized by epithelial cells and their isolated plasma membranes.
abstract: The gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) determined by measuring dye coupling with Lucifer yellow, decreased within 3 d from 66% to 28% in monocultures of rat liver parenchymal cells. Coculturing of the parenchymal cells with a nonparenchymal epithelial cell line from rat liver resulted in increased and stabilized intercellular communication (83% after 3 d). The presence of isolated plasma membrane vesicles of the nonparenchymal epithelial cells also stabilized the intercellular communication between the liver parenchymal cells (70% after 3 d). When liver parenchymal cells were cocultured with a rat liver fibroblast cell line the gap junctional communication between the parenchymal cells was not stabilized (43% after 3 d), and isolated plasma membrane vesicles of the fibroblast were also unable to support the GJIC in parenchymal cells (35% after 3 d). It is concluded that plasma membrane constituents of the nonparenchymal epithelial cells were responsible for the stabilization of the GJIC between parenchymal cells. A heterotypic gap junctional communication between parenchymal and nonparenchymal cells was not observed.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Toxikologie, Universität Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Diener
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beer
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dürk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Traiser
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Utesch
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wieser
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oesch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000502:physiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley