IMR Press / FBL / Volume 22 / Issue 5 / DOI: 10.2741/4516

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article

Blockage of hemichannels alters gene expression in osteocytes in a high magneto-gravitational environment

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1 Key Laboratory for Space Biosciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, 710072, China
2 Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Texas, 78229, USA
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2017, 22(5), 783–794; https://doi.org/10.2741/4516
Published: 1 January 2017
Abstract

Osteocytes, the most abundant cells in bone, are highly responsive to external environmental changes. We tested how Cx43 hemichannels which mediate the exchange of small molecules between cells and extracellular environment impact genome wide gene expression under conditions of abnormal gravity and magnetic field. To this end, we subjected osteocytic MLO-Y4 cells to a high magneto-gravitational environment and used microarray to examine global gene expression and a specific blocking antibody was used to assess the role of Cx43 hemichannels. While 3 hr exposure to abnormal gravity and magnetic field had relatively minor effects on global gene expression, blocking hemichannels significantly impacted the expression of a number of genes which are involved in cell viability, apoptosis, mineral absorption, protein absorption and digestion, and focal adhesion. Also, blocking of hemichannels enriched genes in multiple signaling pathways which are enaged by TGF-beta, Jak-STAT and VEGF. These results show the role of connexin hemichannels in bone cells in high magneto-gravitational environments.

Keywords
Gene Expression Profile
HMGE
Connexin 43
Hemichannel
MLO-Y4 cells
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