Hillis G S, Duthie L A, Brown P A, Simpson J G, MacLeod A M, Haites N E
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Aberdeen, U.K.
J Pathol. 1997 Aug;182(4):373-9. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9896(199708)182:4<373::AID-PATH858>3.0.CO;2-B.
Connexin43 (Cx43) is a major component of gap junctions. These are widely distributed in the human kidney and are thought to be involved in the inflammatory response and in the regulation of cell growth. Cellular adhesion molecules (CAMs) are also thought to be important in these processes, where they possibly facilitate gap junction formation. The aims of the current study were to define for the first time the expression of Cx43 in inflammatory glomerulonephritis and to compare the localization of this connexin with that of the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and E-selectin. Human renal biopsies and control sections of normal human kidney were stained using the alkaline phosphatase/anti-alkaline phosphatase immunohistochemical technique, demonstrating that Cx43 was strongly expressed on inflammatory cells, on damaged tubular cells, and on interstitial cells. This pattern of expression was paralleled closely by that of ICAM-1 and, to a lesser extent, by that of VCAM-1. Cx43 is therefore primarily implicated in tubulointerstitial inflammation.
连接蛋白43（Cx43）是缝隙连接的主要成分。缝隙连接广泛分布于人体肾脏，被认为参与炎症反应和细胞生长调节。细胞黏附分子（CAMs）在这些过程中也被认为很重要，它们可能促进缝隙连接的形成。本研究的目的是首次确定Cx43在炎症性肾小球肾炎中的表达，并比较这种连接蛋白与细胞间黏附分子-1（ICAM-1）、血管细胞黏附分子-1（VCAM-1）和E-选择素的定位。采用碱性磷酸酶/抗碱性磷酸酶免疫组化技术对人肾活检组织和正常人体肾脏对照切片进行染色，结果显示Cx43在炎症细胞、受损肾小管细胞和间质细胞上强烈表达。这种表达模式与ICAM-1的表达模式密切平行，在较小程度上与VCAM-1的表达模式平行。因此，Cx43主要与肾小管间质炎症有关。
