title: Connexins: Intercellular Signal Transmitters in Lymphohematopoietic Tissues.
abstract: Life-long hematopoietic demands are met by a pool of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) with self-renewal and multipotential differentiation ability. Humoral and paracrine signals from the bone marrow (BM) hematopoietic microenvironment control HSC activity. Cell-to-cell communication through connexin (Cx) containing gap junctions (GJs) allows pluricellular coordination and synchronization through transfer of small molecules with messenger activity. Hematopoietic and surrounding nonhematopoietic cells communicate each other through GJs, which regulate fetal and postnatal HSC content and function in hematopoietic tissues. Traffic of HSC between peripheral blood and BM is also dependent on Cx proteins. Cx mutations are associated with human disease and hematopoietic dysfunction and Cx signaling may represent a target for therapeutic intervention. In this review, we illustrate and highlight the importance of Cxs in the regulation of hematopoietic homeostasis under normal and pathological conditions.
authors: Unit of Cellular and Animal Models, Center for Biomedical Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain.
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: González-Nieto
authors: Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Hoxworth Blood Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors: Kyung-Hee
authors: KH
authors: Chang
authors: Unit of Experimental Neurology, Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
authors: Ilaria
authors: I
authors: Fasciani
authors: Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors: Ramesh
authors: R
authors: Nayak
authors: Unit of Cellular and Animal Models, Center for Biomedical Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Fernandez-García
authors: Unit of Experimental Neurology, Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
authors: Luis C
authors: LC
authors: Barrio
authors: Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Hoxworth Blood Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors: José A
authors: JA
authors: Cancelas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D017630:Connexins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D019899:Paracrine Communication / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D055153:Stem Cell Niche / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017630:Connexins
keywords: Connexins; Hematopoiesis; Lymphohematopoietic tissues; Stem cell niche