Expressional Patterns of Connexin Isoforms in the Rat Epididymal Fat during Postnatal Development.

In the multicellular tissue, cell-cell interaction is important for a precise control of its function. The exchange of signaling molecules between adjacent cells via connexon allows the functional harmony of cells in the tissue. The present research was to determine the presence and expressional patterns of connexin () isoforms in the rat epididymal fat during postnatal development using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. Of 13 isoforms examined, expression of 11 isoforms in the epididymal fat during postnatal development was detected. These isoforms include 26, 31, 31.1, 32, 33, 36, 37, 40, 43, 45, and 50. Expressional levels of all isoforms at 1 and 2 years of age were significantly higher than those at the early postnatal ages, such as 7 days, 14 days, and 24 days of ages. Except 33 and 43, the transcript levels of rest isoforms at 1 year of age were significantly lower than that at 2 years of age. In addition, expressional patterns of isoforms between 7 days and 5 months of ages generally varied according to the isoform. The existence of various isoforms in the rat epididymal fat has been identified and expression of each isoform in the epididymal fat during postnatal development has shown a particular pattern, distinguishable from the others. To our knowledges, this is the first report showing expressional patterns of isoforms at transcript level in the epididymal fat at various postnatal ages.