Models and methods for in vitro testing of hepatic gap junctional communication

Autor(es)

Maes, Michael ; Yanguas, Sara Crespo ; Willebrords, Joost ; Vinken, Mathieu

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: TOXICOLOGY IN VITRO; v. 30, n. 1, p. 9-pg., 2015-12-25.

Resumo

Inherent to their pivotal roles in controlling all aspects of the liver cell life cycle, hepatocellular gap junctions are frequently disrupted upon impairment of the homeostatic balance, as occurs during liver toxicity. Hepatic gap junctions, which are mainly built up by connexin32, are specifically targeted by tumor promoters and epigenetic carcinogens. This renders inhibition of gap junction functionality a suitable indicator for the in vitro detection of nongenotoxic hepatocarcinogenicity. The establishment of a reliable liver gap junction inhibition assay for routine in vitro testing purposes requires a cellular system in which gap junctions are expressed at an in vivo-like level as well as an appropriate technique to probe gap junction activity. Both these models and methods are discussed in the current paper, thereby focusing on connexin32-based gap junctions. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 13/50420-6 - Canais de conexina e panexina como alvos terapêuticos e biomarcadores nas doenças hepáticas aguda e crônica
• Beneficiário: Mathieu Frederick Alexander Vinken
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa SPEC