Bioelectricity

Fasih Bintang Ilhami

Anis Rahma Cahyani

Desyana Auralia Azizah

Maya Widya Risma

Iva Tien Nur Hidayatul Ullum

Exploring the Bioelectricity of Fruits as Sources for Sustainable and Renewable Energy

探索水果生物电作为可持续和可再生能源的来源

Antonios Pantazis

William J. Brackenbury

Worldwide Sodium Channel Conference, January 31st–February 2nd, 2024, Grindelwald, Switzerland

2024年1月31日至2月2日，瑞士格林德瓦尔全球钠通道会议

Background: The regenerating zebrafish fin skeleton is comprised of multiple bony fin rays, each made of alternating bony segments and fin ray joints. This pattern is regulated by the gap junction protein Connexin43 (Cx43), which provides instructional cues to skeletal precursor cells (SPCs). Elevated Cx43 favors osteoblast differentiation and disfavors joint forming cell differentiation. The goal of this article is to test if retinoic acid (RA) contributes to the regulation of cx43 expression. Materials and Methods: Functional studies inhibiting the RA-synthesizing enzyme Adh1a2 were evaluated using in situ hybridization to monitor gene expression and with measurements of the length of fin ray segments to monitor impacts on SPC differentiation and joint formation. Results: Aldh1a2-knockdown leads to reduced expression of cx43 and increased expression of evx1, a gene required for joint formation. Additionally, inhibition of Aldh1a2 function leads to short fin ray segments. We also find evidence for synergy between aldh1a2 and cx43, suggesting that these genes function in a common molecular pathway to regulate joint formation. Conclusions: The role of RA is to promote cx43 expression in the regenerating fin to regulate joint formation and the length of bony fin ray segments. We suggest that RA signaling must coordinate with additional pathways that also regulate cx43 transcription.

Alexander W. Seaver

Noah S. Weaver

M. Kathryn Iovine

Retinoic Acid Influences connexin43 Expression During Joint Formation in the Regenerating Zebrafish Fin

视黄酸在再生斑马鱼鳍关节形成过程中影响connexin43表达

Scott P. Fraser

Special Issue “The Xenopus Oocyte: A Tool for Membrane Biology,” Mattei and Limon (eds.) Membranes (Vol. 1; ISSN 2077-0375)

特刊“非洲爪蟾卵母细胞：膜生物学工具”，Mattei和Limon（主编）《膜》（第1卷；ISSN 2077-0375）

BioelectricityVol. 5, No. 3 EditorialFree AccessConnexin Connections: A Special Issue on Gap JunctionsJennifer S. Fang and Jose F. Ek-VitorinJennifer S. FangAddress correspondence to: Jennifer S. Fang, PhD, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, School of Science and Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA E-mail Address: [email protected]https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5703-2239Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, School of Science and Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.Search for more papers by this author and Jose F. Ek-Vitorinhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6487-8643Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:12 Sep 2023https://doi.org/10.1089/bioe.2023.0036AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail This year marks nearly half a century since connexin (Cx) proteins—constituent proteins of gap junction channels—were first discovered. In that time, major inroads have been made toward better understanding these understated yet enigmatic channel proteins. In this special issue, we collect several exciting primary research articles and reviews that reflect the current state of Cx and gap junction channel research.Although first imaged by electron microscopy in 1952,1 gap junctions were not named as such until 1969,2 and their constituent channel proteins were not identified for another 5 years.3 Subsequent studies in the intervening five decades have significantly expanded upon our initial understanding of Cxs and gap junctions, several questions remain.For example: Why does the mammalian genome express ∼20 different Cx isoforms, each with distinct tissue expression patterns, channel properties, and C-terminal protein domain structure? How do Cxs contribute—individually and collectively—to the physiology and the disease states of the tissues in which they are expressed? How are gap junctions innately selective for bioelectrical and organic permeants, and how is their gating regulated to properly control cell–cell transfer of these gap junction-permeable signals? What are the critical signals that pass through gap junction channels, and how does electrochemical coupling through gap junctions uniquely coordinate and control tissue development and function? Lastly, do gap junctions also possess functions beyond as intercellular conduits of electrochemical signals, and what is the contribution of this noncanonical channel-independent signaling regulation to tissue biology? These and other questions remain the subject of intense ongoing study by contemporary gap junction researchers.In this special issue, we have collected several articles, including both primary research articles and reviews, that describe the field's latest findings. Our hope is that as a special collection, these articles will help to shed new light into the important physiological roles of Cxs and gap junctions in maintaining tissue health.First, to mark the nearly half a century since Cx proteins were discovered, we reflect on how in vitro and in vivo studies have come together to reveal the importance of Cxs in our introductory review article. We describe several landmark studies that have created a comprehensive (if certainly not complete) understanding of how Cxs form gap junction channels and how these channels are regulated to mediate electrochemical cell–cell signaling.We then go on to focus on several questions of active interest among gap junction researchers, most notably recent work that has significantly expanded understanding of Cxs' function in tissue development and homeostasis. Specifically, we review site mutagenesis studies—including many conducted only within the last two decades—that have provided compelling evidence that Cxs have functions beyond their role as intercellular channels, and can also mediate a variety of noncanonical channel-independent signaling mechanisms.Separately, Dr. David Spray, a well-respected gap junction researcher, reflects on the major breakthroughs of his career. In his invited “My Experiments in Bioelectricity” feature, Dr. Spray discusses his landmark studies on regulation of Cx-specific gap junction channel voltage sensitivity. He contextualizes this work within our larger body of knowledge about the role of gap junctions in development, and further considers several key questions that remain unresolved with regard to the function of gap junction channels in isolated cells and intact tissue.It is now clear that Cxs are ubiquitously expressed in all tissues of the body and that their dysregulated expression is associated with several disease states, most notably cancer. Furthermore, individual tissues express distinct Cx expression profiles, each of which can form channels with unique channel properties. Thus, not only are Cxs critical for the health of most tissue, but they may also play diverse—and perhaps even opposing—roles within any specific tissue. In this special issue, we publish two reviews summarizing how specific Cxs regulate two distinct tissue types, one in the eye and the other in bone.In Ek-Vitorin and Jiang's review, “The role of gap junction dysfunction in the development of cataracts: from loss of cell-to-cell transfer to blurred vision,” the authors explore what is currently known about how lens Cx43, Cx46, and Cx50 contribute to fluid handling and lens transparency in the healthy eye, and how dysregulation of these Cxs (such as by abnormal phosphorylation) might lead to their dysfunction resulting in aberrant protein accumulation, lens opacity, and the development of cataracts.In their review titled “Role of Cx43 on bone cell generation, function, and survival,” Plotkin and colleagues focus on bone-expressed Cx43 and its regulation of osteoclasts, osteoblasts, and osteocytes. They explore Cx43's function as an intercellular gap junction channel in bone, where inherited mutation of Cx43 leading to the congenital disease oculodentodigital dysplasia (ODDD) has been well established. The authors then go on to discuss and integrate several new studies that describe how undocked Cx43 hemichannels also contribute to hormonal, pharmacotherapeutic, and mechanical signaling in osteoblasts and osteocytes. This review raises exciting new questions about how gap junction channel versus hemichannel activity might be regulated, and how this regulation could have potentially widespread impacts on downstream cell signaling and tissue function in health and disease.In addition to these comprehensive reviews, our special issue also includes several exciting reports of new primary research. The field has long been intrigued by how gap junction-mediated electrochemical coupling might uniquely allow for cells to function as a syncytium, and, therefore, accomplish complex information processing tasks at the tissue level far beyond the capacity of any individual cell. Blattner and Levin tackle this problem using in silico modeling of planarian tissue regeneration in their article titled “Long range communication via gap junctions as a facilitator to store morphological patterns and guide regeneration processes: A computational study.” They describe a computational model of planarian wound healing under stress based on gap junction-mediated cell–cell communication, and they show using this model that cell–cell coupling is sufficient to drive proper postinjury tissue morphogenesis and patterning. Lastly, Blattner and Levin show that simulated gap junction blockage in their computational model leads to improper bioelectrical communication and mispatterned regeneration.Finally, our special issue presents two articles focused on the upstream signals that regulate Cxs and their function, with specific focus on the widely expressed Cx isoform, Cx43. Cxs are regulated at several levels, including in their transcription, translation, junctional trafficking, and post-translational modification to control channel gating and channel-independent protein–protein interactions. In this special issue, two articles separately address transcriptional and post-translational control of Cx43, using both in vitro and in vivo models. First, Iovine and colleagues present evidence that retinoic acid (a key regulator of tissue development during embryogenesis and after injury) controls Cx43 expression in zebrafish. Using knockdown of Aldh1a2 (an enzyme responsible for synthesizing retinoic acid), the authors show that retinoic acid production is required for Cx43 upregulation and joint formation in the zebrafish fin during wound healing.Second, Ek-Vitorin et al. perform electrophysiological characterization of a putative PKC/CK-1 Cx43 phosphomimetic mutant, where they find several interesting effects on voltage sensitivity and channel gating with potential relevance to how Cx43 is phosphorylated to regulate ischemic preconditioning in the heart.Our special issue aggregates several articles that tackle numerous questions that continue to excite the gap junction field, and we collect several new findings that provide insight into these ongoing gaps in our gap junction knowledge. Furthermore, additional contributions to this special issue's focus on gap junctions are expected to be included in a follow-up collection in the issue of Bioelectricity that will be published later this year. Taken together, we hope that this special collection of gap junction research will help to bridge new scientific connections for our readers, and will encourage future study into the understated, yet endlessly fascinating, family of Cx proteins and the gap junctions that they form.References1. Robertson JD. Ultrastructure of two invertebrate synapses. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 1953;82(2):219–223; doi: 10.3181/00379727-82-20071 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar2. Brightman MW, Reese TS. Junctions between intimately apposed cell membranes in the vertebrate brain. J Cell Biol 1969;40(3):648–677; doi: 10.1083/jcb.40.3.648 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar3. Goodenough DA. Bulk isolation of mouse hepatocyte gap junctions. Characterization of the principal protein, connexin. J Cell Biol 1974;61(2):557–563; doi: 10.1083/jcb.61.2.557 Crossref, Medline, Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 5Issue 3Sep 2023 InformationCopyright 2023, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishersTo cite this article:Jennifer S. Fang and Jose F. Ek-Vitorin.Connexin Connections: A Special Issue on Gap Junctions.Bioelectricity.Sep 2023.151-152.http://doi.org/10.1089/bioe.2023.0036Published in Volume: 5 Issue 3: September 12, 2023PDF download

Jennifer S. Fang

Jose F. Ek-Vitorin

Connexin Connections: A Special Issue on Gap Junctions

连接蛋白连接：缝隙连接特刊

Takaaki Hasegawa

Laurien GPH Vroomen

Arjun Sivaraman

Masashi Fujimori

Nirmal Thampi John

Jonathan Coleman

Badar M. Mian

Govindarajan Srimathveeravalli

Effect of Transforming Growth Factor-β Inhibition on Ureteral and Renal Scarring in a Rat Model of Upper Urinary Tract Ablation with Irreversible Electroporation

转化生长因子-β抑制对大鼠上尿路消融模型中不可逆电穿孔引起的输尿管和肾瘢痕形成的影响

Ann M. Rajnicek

Bioelectricity Buzz

生物电热潮

Mikaela L. Follmer

Rosalind Franklin Society Proudly Announces the 2023 Award Recipient for Bioelectricity

罗莎琳德·富兰克林学会自豪地宣布2023年《生物电学》奖项获得者

短名	Bioelectricity.
Journal Impact	1.66
国际分区	ELECTROCHEMISTRY(Q4)

涉及主题	生物医学遗传学化学内科学计算机科学心理学生物化学物理工程类材料科学神经科学细胞生物学量子力学有机化学
出版信息	出版商: Mary Ann Liebert Inc.，出版周期: ，期刊类型: journal，开源期刊: 否
基本数据	创刊年份: 2019，原创研究文献占比: 96.00%，自引率:12.50%， Gold OA占比: 8.64%

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Exploring the Bioelectricity of Fruits as Sources for Sustainable and Renewable Energy

Worldwide Sodium Channel Conference, January 31st–February 2nd, 2024, Grindelwald, Switzerland

Retinoic Acid Influences connexin43 Expression During Joint Formation in the Regenerating Zebrafish Fin

Special Issue “The Xenopus Oocyte: A Tool for Membrane Biology,” Mattei and Limon (eds.) Membranes (Vol. 1; ISSN 2077-0375)

Connexin Connections: A Special Issue on Gap Junctions

Exploring the Bioelectricity of Fruits as Sources for Sustainable and Renewable Energy

Worldwide Sodium Channel Conference, January 31st–February 2nd, 2024, Grindelwald, Switzerland

Effect of Transforming Growth Factor-β Inhibition on Ureteral and Renal Scarring in a Rat Model of Upper Urinary Tract Ablation with Irreversible Electroporation

Bioelectricity Buzz

Rosalind Franklin Society Proudly Announces the 2023 Award Recipient for Bioelectricity

ISSN	2576-3105, 2576-3113
h-index	15