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Related Concept Videos

Gap Junctions01:37

Gap Junctions

Multicellular organisms employ a variety of ways for cells to communicate with each other. Gap junctions are specialized proteins that form pores between neighboring cells in animals, connecting the cytoplasm between the two, and allowing for the exchange of molecules and ions. They are found in a wide range of invertebrate and vertebrate species, mediate numerous functions including cell differentiation and development, and are associated with numerous human diseases, including cardiac and...
Gap Junctions01:27

Gap Junctions

The cytoplasm of adjacent animal cells can exchange small molecules, ions, and secondary messengers via the communication channels which form the gap junctions. These junctions comprise a few hundred to thousands of molecular channels, each made of two halves, called the connexon hemichannel. A connexon is a hexamer of six transmembrane connexin proteins, which assemble radially, thus forming a pore or channel in the center. One connexon hemichannel docks with a corresponding connexon on the...
American Trypanosomiasis01:22

American Trypanosomiasis

Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a flagellated protozoan (kinetoplastid) of the family Trypanosomatidae. The disease is endemic in Latin America, although cases are increasingly reported worldwide due to human migration. Transmission most commonly occurs when feces of infected triatomine bugs contaminate bite wounds or mucosal surfaces; additional routes include congenital, transfusional, transplant-related, and oral...
Contact-dependent Signaling01:19

Contact-dependent Signaling

Contact-dependent signaling, as the name suggests, requires that communicating cells be in direct contact with each other. This is achieved either through receptor-ligand interactions or by specialized cytoplasmic channels that allow the flow of small molecules between cells. In animal cells, channels called gap junctions facilitate contact-dependent signaling in certain tissues, whereas, plasmodesmata perform a similar function in plants.
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...
Overview of Cell-Cell Junctions01:14

Overview of Cell-Cell Junctions

The complex three-dimensional arrangement of cells in any multicellular organism is defined and maintained by interactions of cells with each other and the extracellular matrix. Cell-cell junctions are specialized structures where the multi-protein complexes on one cell interact with the multi-protein complexes on another  cell. These cell junctions are classified  into three main types based on their function — occluding, anchoring, and gap junctions.
Occluding or Tight Junctions
Tight...
Overview of Cell-Cell Junctions01:14

Overview of Cell-Cell Junctions

The complex three-dimensional arrangement of cells in any multicellular organism is defined and maintained by interactions of cells with each other and the extracellular matrix. Cell-cell junctions are specialized structures where the multi-protein complexes on one cell interact with the multi-protein complexes on another  cell. These cell junctions are classified  into three main types based on their function — occluding, anchoring, and gap junctions.
Occluding or Tight Junctions
Tight...

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Sexual Transmission of American Trypanosomes from Males and Females to Naive Mates
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Gap junctions and chagas disease.

Daniel Adesse1, Regina Coeli Goldenberg, Fabio S Fortes

  • 1Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Advances in Parasitology
|September 3, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Chagasic cardiomyopathy impairs heart cell communication by reducing connexin43 (Cx43) gap junctions. This leads to impaired cardiac contraction and altered gene expression, contributing to heart dysfunction.

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Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Biology
  • Molecular Cardiology
  • Parasitology

Background:

  • Gap junction channels, primarily connexin43 (Cx43), are crucial for coordinated cardiac impulse propagation and synchronous contraction.
  • Chagasic cardiomyopathy, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection, is characterized by impaired cardiac function and arrhythmias.
  • Previous studies link arrhythmogenic cardiac diseases to reduced Cx43 expression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of Trypanosoma cruzi infection on gap junction function and Cx43 expression in cardiac myocytes.
  • To explore the transcriptomic changes in the heart during Chagas disease and their correlation with functional pathology.

Main Methods:

  • Infection of cardiac myocytes with Trypanosoma cruzi in vitro.
  • Immunofluorescence staining to assess gap junction and tight junction protein localization.
  • Transcriptomic analysis of hearts from mouse models and infected cardiac myocytes.

Main Results:

  • Trypanosoma cruzi infection significantly impairs synchronous contraction and leads to loss of gap junction immunoreactivity in cardiac myocytes.
  • Changes in gap junction integrity were not observed for tight junction proteins.
  • Transcriptomic studies revealed profound gene expression remodeling, particularly involving heart rhythm determinant genes.

Conclusions:

  • Reduced Cx43 expression and impaired gap junction function are key features of Chagasic cardiomyopathy.
  • Altered gene expression patterns contribute to the functional cardiac pathology observed in Chagas disease.
  • The localized nature of Cx43 alterations suggests a potential spread of damage signals from infected to healthy cells, contributing to global cardiac dysfunction.