Gap junctions and neuronal injury: protectants or executioners?
The authors review concepts and recent experimental observations that relate gap junctional communication to the pathophysiology of neuronal injury, specifically ischemic or traumatic damage. The role played by this type of direct intercellular communication during the progression of the injuries can be conceived to be either detrimental or beneficial, depending on the arguments employed. The data indicate that, far from being a simple matter of judgment, the contribution of gap junctions to cell injury is a complicated phenomenon that depends on the specific insult and network in which it operates.
Perez Velazquez
Jose L
JL
The Hospital for Sick Children, Brain and Behaviour Program, Division of Neurology, Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. jlpv@sickkids.ca
Frantseva
Marina V
MV
Naus
Christian C
CC
D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism*; D002450:Cell Communication; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000293:injuries* / Q000378:metabolism*; D017630:Connexins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000378:metabolism*
D017630:Connexins; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents