Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.
Stem Cells Dev. 2012 Sep 20;21(14):2623-9. doi: 10.1089/scd.2011.0707. Epub 2012 Apr 3.
Gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) has been described in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and various somatic cells. GJIC has been implicated in the regulation of cell proliferation, self-renewal, and differentiation. Recently, a new type of pluripotent stem cells was generated by direct reprogramming of somatic cells. Here, for the first time, we show that during reprogramming events GJIC is re-established upon reaching complete reprogramming. The opposite process of cell differentiation from the pluripotent state leads to the disruption of GJIC between pluripotent and differentiated cell subsets. However, GJIC is subsequently re-established de novo within each differentiated cell type in vitro, forming communication compartments within a histotype. Our results provide the important evidence that reestablisment of functional gap junctions to the level similar to human ESCs is an additional physiological characteristic of somatic cell reprogramming to the pluripotent state and differentiation to the specific cell type.
缝隙连接细胞间通讯 (GJIC) 在胚胎干细胞 (ESCs) 和各种体细胞中已有描述。GJIC 被认为参与了细胞增殖、自我更新和分化的调节。最近，通过直接重编程体细胞产生了一种新型的多能干细胞。在这里，我们首次表明，在重编程事件中，当达到完全重编程时，GJIC 会重新建立。从多能状态向细胞分化的相反过程导致多能和分化细胞亚群之间 GJIC 的中断。然而，GJIC 随后在体外重新在每个分化的细胞类型中从头建立，在组织类型内形成通讯隔室。我们的研究结果提供了重要证据，即功能性缝隙连接的重建达到类似于人类 ESCs 的水平，是体细胞重编程到多能状态以及分化为特定细胞类型的另一个生理特征。
