title: Sensitivity of the brain transcriptome to connexin ablation.
abstract: Extensive studies on mice with total or partial disruption of either connexin43 (Cx43) or connexin32 (Cx32) have detected only subtle changes in central nervous system structure, growth, development, or function. We have used high density cDNA arrays to analyze the regulation, control, and coordination of the abundances of 7446 distinct transcripts in four brains, each of Cx43 null (K43), Cx43 heterozygous (H43), and Cx32 null (K32) mice as compared to the brains of wildtype (W) mice. The use of multiple samples allowed the determination of the statistical significance of gene regulation. Significantly regulated genes encoded proteins of all functional categories, extending beyond those that might be expected to depend on junctional communication. Moreover, we found a high degree of similarity between genes regulated in the K43 and H43 brains and a remarkable overlap between gene regulation in brains of K43 and K32. The regulated genes in both K43 and H43 brains showed an outstanding inverse coordination with the levels of expression of Cx43 in W brain, indicating that the regulated genes are largely predictable from their co-variance with Cx43 in the wildtype samples. These findings lead to the hypothesis that connexin expression may represent a central node in the regulation of gene expression patterns in brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1410 Pelham Parkway South, Kennedy Center, Room 915C, New York, NY 10461, United States. diacobas@aecom.yu.edu
authors.forename: Dumitru A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Iacobas
authors.forename: Sanda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iacobas
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Urban-Maldonado
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Spray
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D018031:Connexin 43 / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology*; D017630:Connexins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D000097002:Gap Junction beta-1 Protein
chemical_list: D018031:Connexin 43; D017630:Connexins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D000097002:Gap Junction beta-1 Protein