Retinoic acid modulates gap junctional intercellular communication in hepatocytes and hepatoma cells |
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Authors: | C Ara M Massimi L Conti Devirgiliis |
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Institution: | (1) Dipartimento di Biologia di Base ed Applicata, Facoltà di Scienze, Università de L'Aquila, Via Vetoio, 67010 Coppito (AQ) (Italy), Fax +39 862 433273, e-mail: laura.conti@aquila.infn.it, IT |
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Abstract: | Gap junctional communication permits the direct exchange of small molecules and ions and has been implicated in tissue homeostasis/metabolite
exchange. The lack of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) plays important roles in the promotion and progression
of carcinogenesis. In the present study, we demonstrate that treatment of human hepatoma Hep G2 cells with retinoic acid (RA)
results in increased amounts and phosphorylation of connexins, their stabilisation in plasma membrane plaques and enhanced
GJIC. In cultured fetal hepatocytes, which represent a non-transformed, proliferating and incompletely differentiated liver
system, the effects of RA are limited to the establishment of connexin in areas of cell-cell contact and the improvement of
GJIC. This suggests that modulation of cell-cell channel communication by RA occurs differently in these two experimental
models: while RA is able to revert cell transformation in Hep G2 cells, in fetal hepatocytes it may induce the expression
of a more differentiated phenotype.
Received 19 June 2002; received after revision 29 July 2002; accepted 8 August 2002
RID="*"
ID="*"Corresponding author. |
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Keywords: | , Retinoic acid, connexin 32, connexin 43, hepatocyte, |
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