Molecular Biology of the Cell click for CBE Life Science Education Page

Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] --
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

MBC in Press, published online ahead of print March 25, 2009
Mol. Biol. Cell 10.1091/mbc.E08-07-0790

A more recent version of this article appeared on May 15, 2009
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental Materials
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
E08-07-0790v1
20/10/2593    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Das, S.
Right arrow Articles by Koval, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Das, S.
Right arrow Articles by Koval, M.

Submitted on August 1, 2008
Revised on March 12, 2009
Accepted on March 13, 2009

ERp29 Restricts Connexin43 Oligomerization in the Endoplasmic Reticulum

Shamie Das,*{dagger} Tekla D. Smith,*{dagger} Jayasri Das Sarma,{ddagger} Jeffrey D. Ritzenthaler,* Jose Maza,* Benjamin E. Kaplan,* Leslie A. Cunningham,* Laurence Suaud,{sect} Michael J. Hubbard,|| Ronald C. Rubenstein,{sect} and Michael Koval*¶

*Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, and Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta GA 30332; {ddagger}Neuroscience Group, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, India 700106; {sect}Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104; ||Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia

Monitoring Editor: Jeffrey L. Brodsky

Connexin43 (Cx43) is a gap junction protein that forms multimeric channels which enable intercellular communication through the direct transfer of signals and metabolites. Although most multimeric protein complexes form in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Cx43 appears to exit from the ER as monomers and subsequently oligomerizes in the Golgi complex. This suggests that one or more protein chaperones inhibit premature Cx43 oligomerization in the ER. Here we provide evidence that an ER-localized, 29 kDa thioredoxin-family protein, ERp29, regulates Cx43 trafficking and function. Interfering with ERp29 function destabilized monomeric Cx43 oligomerization in the ER, caused increased Cx43 accumulation in the Golgi apparatus, reduced transport of Cx43 to the plasma membrane and inhibited gap junctional communication. ERp29 also formed a specific complex with monomeric Cx43. Taken together, this supports a new role for ERp29 as a chaperone that helps stabilize monomeric Cx43 to enable oligomerization to occur in the Golgi apparatus.

{dagger}These authors contributed equally to this work.

Address correspondence to: Michael Koval (mhkoval{at}emory.edu)






Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] --
Copyright © 2009 by The American Society for Cell Biology. Terms of copyright protection, warranties, and disclaimers.