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Review
. 2014 Feb 27:5:82.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2014.00082. eCollection 2014.

Gap junction modulation and its implications for heart function

Stefan Kurtenbach  1 , Sarah Kurtenbach  1 , Georg Zoidl  2
Affiliations
Review

Gap junction modulation and its implications for heart function

Stefan Kurtenbach et al. Front Physiol. .

Abstract

Gap junction communication (GJC) mediated by connexins is critical for heart function. To gain insight into the causal relationship of molecular mechanisms of disease pathology, it is important to understand which mechanisms contribute to impairment of gap junctional communication. Here, we present an update on the known modulators of connexins, including various interaction partners, kinases, and signaling cascades. This gap junction network (GJN) can serve as a blueprint for data mining approaches exploring the growing number of publicly available data sets from experimental and clinical studies.

Keywords: connexin; gap junction communication; heart; interactome; signaling pathway.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Simplified summary of the gap junction network. This cartoon summarizes important signaling pathways, modulators, and interacting proteins of connexins, which converge exemplarily on a (green) connexin gap junction channel. The major functional groups outlined in the main text have been color-coded and relations between groups indicated by arrows. Further, phosphorylation (P) and dephosphorylation (-P) is highlighted. Note that the depicted pathways/interactions will vary for individual connexins. The gap junction network includes G proteins (light blue), cyclases (dark blue), kinases (violet), MAPK/ERK related signaling pathways (orange), receptors (red), scaffolding and junctional proteins (pink), cytoskeleton (dark pink), and cell cycle associated proteins (yellow).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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