Department of Toxicology, Center for Pharmaceutical Research, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, B-1090 Brussels, Belgium.
J Hepatol. 2012 Sep;57(3):655-62. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2012.02.036. Epub 2012 May 16.
Because of their critical role as goalkeepers of hepatic homeostasis, gap junctions are frequent targets in liver disease. This concept has been demonstrated on many occasions in the light of hepatocarcinogenesis. Relatively little focus has been put on the fate of gap junctions in other liver pathologies, including hepatitis, liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, cholestasis and hepatic ischemia and reperfusion injury. The present paper provides an in-depth description of the multiple changes in expression, localization and function of connexins, the molecular constituents of gap junctions. The use of connexins as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in liver disease is also illustrated.
由于它们作为肝内稳态守门员的关键作用，缝隙连接经常成为肝脏疾病的靶点。这一概念在肝癌发生的许多情况下都得到了证实。相对较少关注的是，在其他肝脏疾病中，包括肝炎、肝纤维化和肝硬化、胆汁淤积和肝缺血再灌注损伤，缝隙连接的命运。本文深入描述了缝隙连接的分子组成连接子（connexins）的表达、定位和功能的多种变化。还说明了连接子作为肝脏疾病的生物标志物和治疗靶点的用途。
