Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Induction and Analysis of Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition
Published on: August 27, 2013
A connexin43/YAP axis regulates astroglial-mesenchymal transition in hemoglobin induced astrocyte activation
Yong Yang1,2, Jie Ren1, Yuhao Sun1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200025, China.
Abstract:
Reactive astrogliosis is a common response to insults to the central nervous system, but the mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we found the temporal and spatial differential expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and Vimentin in the intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) mouse brain, indicating that the de-differentiation and astroglial-mesenchymal transition (AMT) of astrocytes might be an early event in reactive astrogliosis. Further we verified the AMT finding in purified astrocyte cultures exposed to hemoglobin (Hb). Additionally, Connexin 43 (Cx43) downregulation and YAP nuclear translocation were observed in Hb-activated astrocytes. Knocking down Cx43 by siRNA triggered YAP nuclear translocation. Cx43 and YAP were physically associated as determined by immunofluorescence and co-immunoprecipitation. We propose that astrocytes undergo AMT during Hb-induced activation where Cx43 downregulation facilitates YAP nuclear translocation is a novel mechanism involved in this process. Cx43-YAP interaction may represent a potential therapeutic target for modulating astrocyte activation.
Related Concept Videos
Cooperative Allosteric Transitions
Hemoglobin
When all four heme groups are bound to oxygen, the resulting molecule is called oxyhemoglobin. As a result, arterial blood...
Phase Transitions
Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis
Regulated Protein Degradation
Protein degradation plays two important roles in the cells. It helps to protect cells from misfolded or damaged proteins before they lead to a...
Negative Regulator Molecules

