title: Connexins and Pannexins in cerebral ischemia.
abstract: A common cause of mortality and long-term adult disability, cerebral ischemia or brain ischemia imposes a significant health and financial burden on communities worldwide. Cerebral ischemia is a condition that arises from a sudden loss of blood flow and consequent failure to meet the high metabolic demands of the brain. The lack of blood flow initiates a sequelae of cell death mechanisms, including the activation of the inflammatory pathway, which can ultimately result in irreversible brain tissue damage. In particular, Connexins and Pannexins are non-selective channels with a large pore that have shown to play time-dependent roles in the perpetuation of ischaemic injury. This review highlights the roles of Connexin and Pannexin channels in cell death mechanisms as a promising therapeutic target in cerebral ischemia, and in particular connexin hemichannels which may contribute most of the ATP release as a result of ischemia as well as during reperfusion. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Gap Junction Proteins edited by Jean Claude Herve.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland.
authors.forename: Yeri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland.
authors.forename: Joanne O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland.
authors.forename: Colin R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland.
authors.forename: Louise F B
authors.initials: LFB
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.affiliation: Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland.
authors.forename: Simon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: O'Carroll
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland. Electronic address: jie.zhang@auckland.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D017630:Connexins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017630:Connexins; D007473:Ion Channels; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate
keywords: Blood brain barrier; Cerebral ischaemia; Connexin; Inflammation; Pannexin; Stroke