title: Pathophysiological roles of gap junction in glomerular mesangial cells.
abstract: Glomerular mesangial cells (MCs) are specialized vascular smooth muscle cells that play a critical role in the control of glomerular hemodynamics. One of the intriguing features of MCs is their extraordinary abundance in gap junctions (GJs). It has long been speculated that GJs may bridge MCs together and provide the mesangium with the characteristics of a functional syncytium. Accumulating scientific evidence supports this idea. GJs are reported to be critically involved in important physiological processes like tubuloglomerular feedback and glomerular filtration. In addition, GJs are implicated in the control of many cellular processes of MCs, including growth, differentiation and survival. This article summarizes the current knowledge on the roles of GJs in glomerular pathophysiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Signaling, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Tamaho, Yamanashi, Japan. yao@yamanashi.ac.jp
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morioka
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oite
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitamura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000502:physiology*; D005920:Glomerular Mesangium / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans