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IRES elements in connexin genes: a hypothesis explaining the need for connexins to be regulated at the translational
1Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida 33101, USA. rwerner@molbio.med.miami.edu
IUBMB Life
|January 6, 2001
Abstract:
The fact that stem cells do not express gap junctions while most differentiated cells do suggests that gap junctions serve a vital function in the maintenance of the differentiated state. This would require that connexin genes be expressed even in conditions where cap-mediated translation is impaired. It is hypothesized that IRES elements in the 5'-UTRs of the mRNAs of most connexins are required for this purpose.