Age-related changes in gap junctional intercellular communication in osteoblastic cells.

ABSTRACT: Aging demonstrates deleterious effects upon the skeleton which can predispose an individual to osteoporosis and related fractures. Despite the well-documented evidence that aging decreases bone formation, there remains little understanding whereby cellular aging alters skeletal homeostasis. We, and others, have previously demonstrated that gap junctions--membrane-spanning channels that allow direct cell-to-cell conductance of small signaling molecules--are critically involved in osteoblast differentiation and skeletal homeostasis. We examined whether the capacity of rat osteoblastic cells to form gap junctions and respond to known modulators of gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) was dependent on the age of the animal from which they were isolated. We observed no effect of age

SUBMITTER: Genetos DC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3640546 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature