Connexin 43 phosphorylation by casein kinase 1 is essential for the cardioprotection by ischemic preconditioning.

ABSTRACT: Myocardial connexin 43 (Cx43) forms gap junctions and hemichannels, and is also present within subsarcolemmal mitochondria. The protein is phosphorylated by several kinases including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), protein kinase C (PKC), and casein kinase 1 (CK1). A reduction in Cx43 content abrogates myocardial infarct size reduction by ischemic preconditioning (IPC). The present study characterizes the contribution of Cx43 phosphorylation towards mitochondrial function, hemichannel activity, and the cardioprotection by IPC in wild-type (WT) mice and in mice in which Cx43-phosphorylation sites targeted by above kinases are mutated to non-phosphorylatable residues (Cx43^MAPKmut, Cx43^PKCmut, and Cx43^CK1mut mice). The amount of Cx43 in the left ventr

SUBMITTER: Hirschhauser C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7985055 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature