Gap Junctions in Development and Disease

Gap Junctions in Development and Disease

Author: Elke Winterhager

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2005-07-19

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 9783540261568

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Communication between cells via intercellular channels – gap junctions – appears essential to certain developmental processes and appropriate organ function. Gap Junctions in Development and Disease aims to describe the molecular events underlying impaired development and disease. Beginning with a comprehensive review of various mouse and human genes encoding the channel-forming connexins, later chapters describe several connexin mutations associated with human diseases such as hereditary deafness and female infertility. Erroneous signaling mediated by the interaction of mutant connexins with other proteins, thought to be responsible for dysfunction of organs such as heart, muscle, brain, skin, lens, placenta, and endocrine tissue in both mice and men, is also addressed. Although the question of why some mutations in gap-junction proteins lead to specific phenotypes remains to be answered, the reviews in this book provide an intriguing insight into the future direction of this research field.


Gap Junctions in the Nervous System

Gap Junctions in the Nervous System

Author: David C. Spray

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-06-29

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 3662219352

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This book deals with the types of gap junction proteins (connexins) and their distribution within the nervous system, the physiological properties of channels formed of each connexin, and the role of gap junction channels in functions of normal and pathological brain and peripheral nerve. Although glial tissue is emphasized, additional groups of chapters deal with neurons in the central nervous system and with the retina.


Gap Junctions in the Brain

Gap Junctions in the Brain

Author: Ekrem Dere

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2012-12-12

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 0124159273

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Gap junctions between glial cells or neurons are ubiquitously expressed in the mammalian brain and play a role in brain development including cell differentiation, cell migration and survival, and tissue homeostasis, as well as in human diseases including hearing loss, neuropathies, epilepsy, brain trauma, and cardiovascular disease. This volume provides neuroscience researchers and students with a single source for information covering the physiological, behavioral and pathophysiological roles of gap junctions in the brain. In addition, the book also discusses human disease conditions associated with mutations in single gap junction connexion genes, making it applicable to clinicians doing translational research. Finally, it includes reviews of pharmacological studies with gap junction blockers and openers, summarizing information obtained from phenotyping gap junctions mouse mutants. - Serves as the most current and comprehensive reference available covering the physiological, behavioral and pathophysiological roles of gap junctions in the brain - Chapters summarize knowledge of the basic physiology of gap junctions in the brain, as well as of human disease conditions associated with mutations in single gap junction connexin genes - Includes reviews of pharmacological studies with gap junction blockers and openers, summarizing information obtained from phenotyping gap junctions mouse mutants


Astrocytes and Epilepsy

Astrocytes and Epilepsy

Author: Jacqueline A. Hubbard

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2016-07-05

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 0128026243

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Epilepsy is a devastating group of neurological disorders characterized by periodic and unpredictable seizure activity in the brain. There is a critical need for new drugs and approaches given than at least one-third of all epilepsy patients are not made free of seizures by existing medications and become "medically refractory". Much of epilepsy research has focused on neuronal therapeutic targets, but current antiepileptic drugs often cause severe cognitive, developmental, and behavioral side effects. Recent findings indicate a critical contribution of astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells in the brain, to neuronal and network excitability and seizure activity. Furthermore, many important cellular and molecular changes occur in astrocytes in epileptic tissue in both humans and animal models of epilepsy. The goal of Astrocytes and Epilepsy is to comprehensively review exciting findings linking changes in astrocytes to functional changes responsible for epilepsy for the first time in book format. These insights into astrocyte contribution to seizure susceptibility indicate that astrocytes may represent an important new therapeutic target in the control of epilepsy. Astrocytes and Epilepsy includes background explanatory text on astrocyte morphology and physiology, epilepsy models and syndromes, and evidence from both human tissue studies and animal models linking functional changes in astrocytes to epilepsy. Beautifully labelled diagrams are presented and relevant figures from the literature are reproduced to elucidate key findings and concepts in this rapidly emerging field. Astrocytes and Epilepsy is written for neuroscientists, epilepsy researchers, astrocyte investigators as well as neurologists and other specialists caring for patients with epilepsy. - Presents the first comprehensive book to synthesize historical and recent research on astrocytes and epilepsy into one coherent volume - Provides a great resource on the field of astrocyte biology and astrocyte-neuron interactions - Details potential therapeutic targets, including chapters on gap junctions, water and potassium channels, glutamate and adenosine metabolism, and inflammation


Cardiac Cell Biology

Cardiac Cell Biology

Author: Elissavet Kardami

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2003-02-28

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 9781402072963

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Cardiac cell biology has come of age. Recognition of activated or modified signaling molecules by specific antibodies, new selective inhibitors, and fluorescent fusion tags are but a few of the tools used to dissect signaling pathways and cross-talk mechanisms that may eventually allow rational drug design. Understanding the regulation of cardiac hypertrophy in all its complexity remains a fundamental goal of cardiac research. Since the advancement of adenovirally mediated gene transfer, transfection efficiency is no longer a limiting factor in the study of cardiomyocytes. A limiting factor in considering cell transplantion as a strategy to repair the damaged heart is cell availability at the right time. Cardiac gap junctions, intercellular communication channels that allow electrical and metabolic coupling and play an important role in arrhythmogenesis are now understood to be exquisite sensors of cardiac change. The reports in this volume incLude elegant studies that made use of cutting edge technological advances and many specialized reagents to address these issues.


Intercellular Communication in Cancer

Intercellular Communication in Cancer

Author: Mustapha Kandouz

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-11-20

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 9401773807

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Cells are by nature compelled to live in groups. They develop dependence over signaling cues received from their microenvironment, in particular from other cells, whether of their own “kind” or of a different type. Therefore, communicating with these cells is a critical aspect of their behavior and fate, as they live and die normally or as they undergo disease-related pathological changes, with dramatic repercussions. In this book, we have asked expert researchers in the field of Intercellular Communication in Cancer to provide chapters on different aspects of interaction between neighboring cells, in the context of cancer diseases. We have specifically focused our efforts on membrane-to-membrane contact-based rather than growth factors-mediated modes of intercellular communications. The contributing authors provide an extensive overview of their respective area of specialization, with an in-depth discussion of the molecular mechanisms of cell-cell interactions, the impact on tumor progression and response to therapies, as well as the cancer diagnostic value of this scientific information. This book aims to introduce essential aspects of the normal and pathological cellular fate and homeostasis to both scientists and clinicians, and also to provide established researchers with an update on the novelties and future directions this expanding field is witnessing.


Gap Junction Channels and Hemichannels

Gap Junction Channels and Hemichannels

Author: Taylor & Francis Group

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2021-03-30

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 9780367658441

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Gap junction channels are a group of intercellular channels expressed in tissues and organs to synchronize many physiological processes. A gap junction channel is formed by the docking of two hemichannels, and each hemichannel is a hexamer of connexins. The field of gap junction channel and hemichannel research has recently exploded and became one of the most active areas of cell biology. Numerous novel approaches and techniques have been developed, but there is no single book dedicated to the unique techniques and protocols employed for the research on these large pore channels. This book fills the gap and focuses on protocols, approaches and reviews of gap junction channels and connexin hemichannels. It will be a useful reference for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers. Anyone with an interest in gap junction channels and hemichannels will need this summary of state-of-the-art techniques and protocols.


Intercellular Communication through Gap Junctions

Intercellular Communication through Gap Junctions

Author: Y. Kanno

Publisher: Newnes

Published: 1995-02-09

Total Pages: 474

ISBN-13: 0444599525

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Research on intercellular communication through gap junctions has continued to expand, and the meeting on which this book is based brought together many scientists from many different countries and disciplines. In line with the objective of the meeting, this volume focuses on the biological meaning of intercellular communication through gap junctions in various organs. The most recent up-to-date findings have been included in this extensive volume, valuable to all those interested in this rapidly expanding field.


Cell-cell Junctions

Cell-cell Junctions

Author: Alpha S. Yap

Publisher: Perspectives Cshl

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9781621821519

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Neighboring cells are linked to each other by multimolecular complexes such as adherens junctions, desmosomes, and gap junctions. These complexes help maintain tissue integrity, act as barriers to permeability, reinforce cell polarity, and allow cells to communicate with each other. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology reviews our understanding of the organization, regulation, and dynamics of cell-cell junctions and the roles they play in morphogenesis, tissue homeostasis, and disease. The contributors examine the assembly and structure of different cell-cell adhesion systems, the plasticity of cell-cell junctions (e.g., during cell migration), and how the junctions act as hubs to sense and transduce various mechanical and chemical signals. The authors also discuss the roles of cell-cell junctions in specific developmental and physiological processes, such as hearing, skeletal myogenesis, and neural circuit assembly, as well as in diseases such as cancer. This volume is therefore an indispensable reference for cell and developmental biologists, as well as anyone interested in understanding the roles of these complexes in human health and disease.