Expression of connexins and pannexins in diseased human liver

Authors

  • Kaat Leroy Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Entity of In Vitro Toxicology and Dermato-Cosmetology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2900-0437
  • Vânia Vilas-Boas Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Entity of In Vitro Toxicology and Dermato-Cosmetology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4798-2158
  • Eva Gijbels Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Entity of In Vitro Toxicology and Dermato-Cosmetology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7366-0769
  • Bart Vanderborght Department of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, Gut-Liver Immunopharmacology Unit, Universiteit Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3964-6928
  • Lindsey Devisscher Department of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, Gut-Liver Immunopharmacology Unit, Universiteit Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4862-9580
  • Bruno Cogliati Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva 87, Cidade Universitária, 05508-270, São Paulo, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1388-7240
  • Bert Van Den Bossche Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Algemeen Stedelijk Ziekenhuis Campus Aalst, Merestraat 80, 9300 Aalst, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6151-3799
  • Isabelle Colle Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Algemeen Stedelijk Ziekenhuis Campus Aalst, Merestraat 80, 9300 Aalst, Belgium https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9109-7570
  • Mathieu Vinken Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Entity of In Vitro Toxicology and Dermato-Cosmetology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium; Tel.: +3224774587; E-mail: mathieu.vinken@vub.be https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5115-8893

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2022-5163

Keywords:

connexin, pannexin, human liver disease, biopsies

Abstract

Connexin proteins can form hexameric hemichannels and gap junctions that mediate paracrine and direct intercellular communication, respectively. Gap junction activity is crucial for the maintenance of hepatic homeostasis, while connexin hemichannels become particularly active in liver disease, such as hepatitis, fibrosis, cholestasis or even hepatocellular carcinoma. Channels consisting of connexin-like proteins named pannexins have been directly linked to liver inflammation and cell death. The goal of the present study was to characterize the expression and subcellular localization of connexins and pannexins in liver of patients suffering from various chronic and neoplastic liver diseases. Specifically, real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry analyses were performed on human liver biopsies. It was found that pannexin1 and pannexin2 gene expression are correlated to a certain degree, as is pannexin1 protein expression with connexin32 and connexin43 protein expression. Furthermore, this study is the first to detect pannexin3 in human patient liver biopsies via both immunoblot and immunohistochemistry.

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Published

2022-08-22

How to Cite

Leroy, K., Vilas-Boas, V., Gijbels, E., Vanderborght, B., Devisscher, L., Cogliati, B., … Vinken, M. (2022). Expression of connexins and pannexins in diseased human liver. EXCLI Journal, 21, 1111–1129. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2022-5163

Issue

Vol. 21 (2022)

Section

Original articles

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Copyright (c) 2022 Kaat Leroy, Vânia Vilas-Boas, Eva Gijbels, Bart Vanderborght, Lindsey Devisscher, Bruno Cogliati, Bert Van Den Bossche, Isabelle Colle, Mathieu Vinken

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