Evidence for the presence of a free C-terminal fragment of cx43 in cultured cells

R Joshi-Mukherjee, W Coombs, C Burrer… - Cell communication & …, 2007 - Taylor & Francis
R Joshi-Mukherjee, W Coombs, C Burrer, IA de Mora, M Delmar, SM Taffet
Cell communication & adhesion, 2007Taylor & Francis
Migration of the gap junction protein connexin 43 (Cx43) in SDS-PAGE yields 2 to 4 distinct
bands, detectable in the 40–47 kDa range. Here, we show that antibodies against the
carboxy-terminal domain of Cx43 recognized an additional 20-kDa product. This protein was
detected in some culture cell lysates. The presence of the 20-kDa band was not prevented
by the use of protease inhibitors (Complete® and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), 1–5
mM). The band was absent from cells treated with Cx43-specific RNAi, and from those …
Migration of the gap junction protein connexin 43 (Cx43) in SDS-PAGE yields 2 to 4 distinct bands, detectable in the 40–47 kDa range. Here, we show that antibodies against the carboxy-terminal domain of Cx43 recognized an additional 20-kDa product. This protein was detected in some culture cell lysates. The presence of the 20-kDa band was not prevented by the use of protease inhibitors (Complete® and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), 1–5 mM). The band was absent from cells treated with Cx43-specific RNAi, and from those derived from Cx43-deficient mice, indicating that this Cx43-immunoreactive protein is a product of the Cx43 gene. Treatment of CHO cells with cyclosporin A caused a reduction in the amount of full-length Cx43 and a concomitant increase in the amount of the 20-kDa band. Overall, our data show that a fraction of the Cx43-immunoreactive protein pool within a given cell may correspond to a C-terminal fragment of the protein.
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