Bermudez-Fajardo Alexandra, Ylihärsilä Minna, Evans W Howard, Newby Andrew C, Oviedo-Orta Ernesto
School of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK.
J Leukoc Biol. 2007 Sep;82(3):608-12. doi: 10.1189/jlb.0307134. Epub 2007 Jun 27.
Gap junction channels constructed of connexins (Cxs) are expressed by peripheral and secondary lymphoid organ-derived lymphocytes. These channels in the plasma membrane play key roles in a range of lymphocyte functions exemplified by the synthesis and secretion of Igs and cytokines and during transmigration across the endothelium. Most recently, their involvement in antigen cross-presentation has also been established. We report here for the first time the expression of mRNA and protein encoding Cx43 in mouse-derived CD4+ Th0, Th1, and Th2 lymphocyte subpopulations and demonstrate the establishment gap junction channel formation with primary macrophages in vitro. We show that this mode of direct communication is particularly favored in Th1-macrophage interactions and that LPS inhibits lymphocyte-macrophage cross-talk independently of the subset of lymphocyte involved. Our work suggests that gap junction-mediated communication can be modulated in the absence of specific antigenic stimulation. Therefore, a further mechanism featuring gap junction-mediated communication may be implicated in immune regulation.
由连接蛋白（Cxs）构成的间隙连接通道在外周和次级淋巴器官来源的淋巴细胞中表达。质膜中的这些通道在一系列淋巴细胞功能中发挥关键作用，例如免疫球蛋白（Igs）和细胞因子的合成与分泌，以及在内皮细胞跨膜迁移过程中。最近，也证实了它们参与抗原交叉呈递。我们首次在此报道了编码Cx43的mRNA和蛋白在小鼠来源的CD4 + Th0、Th1和Th2淋巴细胞亚群中的表达，并证明了在体外与原代巨噬细胞形成间隙连接通道。我们表明，这种直接通讯模式在Th1 - 巨噬细胞相互作用中尤为常见，并且脂多糖（LPS）可独立于所涉及的淋巴细胞亚群抑制淋巴细胞 - 巨噬细胞的相互作用。我们的工作表明，在没有特异性抗原刺激的情况下，间隙连接介导的通讯可以被调节。因此，间隙连接介导的通讯可能是免疫调节中的另一种机制。
