title: Physiological roles of connexins and pannexins in reproductive organs.
abstract: Reproductive organs are complex and well-structured tissues essential to perpetuate the species. In mammals, the male and female reproductive organs vary on their organization, morphology and function. Connectivity between cells in such tissues plays pivotal roles in organogenesis and tissue functions through the regulation of cellular proliferation, migration, differentiation and apoptosis. Connexins and pannexins can be seen as major regulators of these physiological processes. In the present review, we assembled several lines of evidence demonstrating that these two families of proteins are essential for male and female reproduction.
authors.affiliation: Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, 25 Orde Street, Toronto, M5T 3H7, Canada.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kibschull
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gellhaus
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carette
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Segretain
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pointis
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gilleron
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017630:Connexins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D038081:Organogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017630:Connexins