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Connexin Modulators of Endocrine Function

  • Chapter
Gap Junctions in Development and Disease

Abstract

The emergence of multicellular organisms has necessitated the specialization of short- and long-range chemical signaling systems, including that provided by the endocrine system. Conversely, the existence of an endocrine system conceptually demands a multicellular organism, to which proper signaling usually also imposes a multicellular gland. Accordingly, the secretory cells of all endocrine glands have developed mechanisms for interacting with adjacent and distant cells. With evolution, such mechanisms have diversified and have been progressively integrated in a complex regulatory network, whereby individual endocrine cells sense the state of activity of their neighbors and regulate accordingly their own level of functioning. A consistent feature of this network is the expression of connexin-made channels between the hormone-producing cells of all glands so far investigated in vertebrates. In a few instances, these channels have also been documented between the endocrine cells and nearby target cells. Here, we have reviewed the distribution of connexins in the mammalian endocrine system, and have discussed the recent evidence pointing to the participation of these proteins in the functioning of endocrine cells, and on the action of hormones on specific target cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism, University of Geneva, School of medicine C.M.U., 1 rue Michel Servet, CH-1211, Geneve 4, Switzerland

    Paolo Meda1

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  1. Philippe Klee
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  2. Nathalie Boucard
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  3. Dorothée Caille
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  12. Jacques-Antoine Haefliger
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  13. Paolo Meda1
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  1. Medical Faculty of the University Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122, Essen, Germany

    Elke Winterhager

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© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Klee, P. et al. (2005). Connexin Modulators of Endocrine Function. In: Winterhager, E. (eds) Gap Junctions in Development and Disease. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-28621-7_9

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