WWW.JNEUROSCI.ORG
-
The Journal of Neuroscience
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     
-


HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP
The Journal of Neuroscience, May 27, 2009, 29(21):7092-7097; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6062-08.2009

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental Data
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Iglesias, R.
Right arrow Articles by Scemes, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Iglesias, R.
Right arrow Articles by Scemes, E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Brief Communications
Pannexin 1: The Molecular Substrate of Astrocyte "Hemichannels"

Rodolfo Iglesias,1 Gerhard Dahl,2 Feng Qiu,2 David C. Spray,1 and Eliana Scemes1

1The Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, and 2Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33136

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Eliana Scemes, The Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Kennedy Center, Room 203, 1410 Pelham Parkway, Bronx, NY 10461. Email: scemes{at}aecom.yu.edu

Purinergic signaling plays distinct and important roles in the CNS, including the transmission of calcium signals between astrocytes. Gap junction hemichannels are among the mechanisms proposed by which astrocytes might release ATP; however, whether the gap junction protein connexin43 (Cx43) forms these "hemichannels" remains controversial. Recently, a new group of proteins, the pannexins, have been shown to form nonselective, high-conductance plasmalemmal channels permeable to ATP, thereby offering an alternative for the hemichannel protein. Here, we provide strong evidence that, in cultured astrocytes, pannexin1 (Panx1) but not Cx43 forms hemichannels. Electrophysiological and fluorescence microscope recordings performed in wild-type and Cx43-null astrocytes did not reveal any differences in hemichannel activity, which was mostly eliminated by treating Cx43-null astrocytes with Panx1-short interfering RNA [Panx1-knockdown (Panx1-KD)]. Moreover, quantification of the amount of ATP released from wild-type, Cx43-null, and Panx1-KD astrocytes indicates that downregulation of Panx1, but not of Cx43, prevented ATP release from these cells.

Received Dec. 19, 2008; revised March 8, 2009; accepted March 30, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Eliana Scemes, The Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Kennedy Center, Room 203, 1410 Pelham Parkway, Bronx, NY 10461. Email: scemes{at}aecom.yu.edu






 -
-

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help
-
Copyright 2009 by Society for Neuroscience ONLINE ISSN: 1529-2401
-