Zhaowei Ai, Avi Fischer, David C. Spray, Anthony M.C. Brown, Glenn I. Fishman
J Clin Invest.
2000;
105(2):161–171
doi:10.1172/JCI7798
This article Copyright © 2000, The American Society for Clinical Investigation
Abstract
|
Full text
|
PDF
G
ap junction channels composed of connexin43 (Cx43) are essential for normal heart formation and function. We studied the potential role of the Wnt family of secreted polypeptides as regulators of Cx43 expression and gap junction channel function in dissociated myocytes and intact hearts. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes responded to Li+, which mimics Wnt signaling, by accumulating the effector protein β-catenin and by inducing Cx43 mRNA and protein markedly. Induction of Cx43 expression was also observed in cardiomyocytes cocultured with Rat-2 fibroblasts or N2A neuroblastoma cells programmed to secrete bioactive Wnt-1. By transfecting a Cx43 promoter-reporter gene construct into cardiomyocytes, we demonstrated that the inductive effect of Wnt signaling was transcriptionally mediated. Enhanced expression of Cx43 increased cardiomyocyte cell coupling, as determined by Lucifer Yellow dye transfer and by calcium wave propagation. Conversely, in a transgenic cardiomyopathic mouse model that exhibits ventricular arrhythmias and gap junctional remodeling, β-catenin and Cx43 expression were downregulated concordantly. In response to Wnt signaling, the accumulating Cx43 colocalized with β-catenin in the junctional membrane; moreover, forced expression of Cx43 in cardiomyocytes reduced the transactivation potential of β-catenin. These findings demonstrate that Wnt signaling is an important modulator of Cx43-dependent intercellular coupling in the heart, and they support the hypothesis that dysregulated signaling contributes to altered impulse propagation and arrhythmia in the myopathic heart.
This file is in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.
If you have not installed and configured the Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system.
Having trouble reading a PDF?
PDFs are designed to be printed out and read, but if you prefer to read them online, you may find it easier if you increase the view size to 125%.
Having trouble saving a PDF?
Many versions of the free Acrobat Reader do not
allow Save. You must instead save the PDF from the JCI Online page you downloaded it from. PC users:
Right-click on the Download link and choose the option that says something like "Save Link As...".
Mac users should hold the mouse button down on the link to get these same options.
Having trouble printing a PDF?
- Try printing one page at a time or to a newer printer.
- Try saving the file to disk before printing rather than opening it "on the fly." This requires that you
configure your browser to "Save" rather than "Launch Application" for the file type "application/pdf", and can
usually be done in the "Helper Applications" options.
- Make sure you are using the latest version of Adobe's Acrobat Reader.