title: Down regulation of immuno-detectable cardiac connexin-43 in BALB/c mice following acute fasting.
abstract: Acute starvation effects for connexin-43 protein expression, in the heart, had not been previously explored. Hence we examined acute fasting on the myocardial immuno-histochemical expression of connexin-43 in 3 groups of 8-week old female BALB/c mice. Groups consisted of control mice (n=5), fasting for 24 h (N=5) and 48 h (N=3). Under light microscopy all control fed cases revealed the presence of some immuno-detectable staining for connexin-43 that is either present or weakly observed in some or all of the regions of interest, that include the cross-sectional left ventricular sub-endocardium, mid-myocardium and papillary muscle. Whereas mice that underwent 24 or 48 h of acute starvation, connexin-43 expression was either difficult to detect visually (N=3) or was completely absent (N=5) at 40x magnification using a light microscope. In starved mice with no membrane staining for connexin-43 we observed an increase in the intracellular accumulation of cytoplasmic connexin-43 expression.
authors.forename: Craig S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: McLachlan
authors.forename: Zakaria A
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Almsherqi
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mossop
authors.forename: Jinya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: See Ting
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Leong
authors.forename: Yuru
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018031:Connexin 43 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D004699:Endocardium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005215:Fasting / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010210:Papillary Muscles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D021381:Protein Transport / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018031:Connexin 43