Proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans induce gap junction synthesis and function in primary liver cultures

Intercellular communication via gap junctions, as measured by dye and electrical coupling, disappears within 12 h in primary rat hepatocytes cultured in serum-supplemented media or within 24 h in cells in a serum-free, hormonally defined medium (HDM) designed for hepatocytes. Glucagon and linoleic acid/BSA were the primary factors in the HDM responsible for the extended life span of the electrical coupling. After 24 h of culture, no hormone or growth factor tested could restore the expression of gap junctions. After 4-5 d of culture, the incidence of coupling was undetectable in a serum-supplemented medium and was only 4-5% in HDM alone. However, treatment with glycosaminoglycans or proteoglycans of 24-h cultures, having no detectable gap junction protein, resulted in synthesis of gap junction protein and of reexpression of electrical and dye coupling within 48 h. Most glycosaminoglycans were inactive (heparan sulfates, chondroitin-6 sulfates) or only weakly active (dermatan sulfates, chondroitin 4-sulfates, hyaluronates), the weakly active group increasing the incidence of coupling to 10-30% with the addition of 50-100 micrograms/ml of the factor. Treatment of the cells with 50-100 micrograms/ml of heparins derived from lung or intestine resulted in cells with intermediate levels of coupling (30-50%). By contrast, 10-20 micrograms/ml of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, dermatan sulfate proteoglycan, or liver-derived heparin resulted in dye coupling in 80-100% of the cells, with numerous cells showing dye spread from a single injected cell. Sulfated polysaccharides of glucose (dextran sulfates) or of galactose (carrageenans) were inactive or only weakly active except for lambda-carrageenan, which induced up to 70% coupling (albeit no multiple coupling in the cultures). The abundance of mRNA (Northern blots) encoding gap junction protein and the amounts of the 27-kD gap junction polypeptide (Western blots) correlated with the degree of electrical and dye coupling indicating that the active glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans are inducing synthesis and expression of gap junctions. Thus, proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans, especially those found in abundance in the extracellular matrix of liver cells, are important in the regulation of expression of gap junctions and, thereby, in the regulation of intercellular communication in the liver. The relative potencies of heparins from different tissue sources at inducing gap junction expression are suggestive of functional tissue specificity for these glycosaminoglycans.     

Multifactorial diversity sustains microbial community stability

Maintenance of a high degree of biodiversity in homogeneous environments is poorly understood. A complex cheese starter culture with a long history of use was characterized as a model system to study simple microbial communities. Eight distinct genetic lineages were identified, encompassing two species: Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The genetic lineages were found to be collections of strains with variable plasmid content and phage sensitivities. Kill-the-winner hypothesis explaining the suppression of the fittest strains by density-dependent phage predation was operational at the strain level. This prevents the eradication of entire genetic lineages from the community during propagation regimes (back-slopping), stabilizing the genetic heterogeneity in the starter culture against environmental uncertainty.     

Regulation of connexin43-protein binding in astrocytes in response to chemical ischemia/hypoxia

Connexin-protein interactions are believed to be critical for the regulation of gap junctional intercellular communication and for the function of gap junctions formed by these complexes. We have primarily used immunoprecipitation strategies to investigate whether connexin43 binds to selected signaling and cytoskeletal proteins and whether connexin43-protein binding is altered in cultured astrocytes exposed to chemical ischemia/hypoxia, a treatment that resembles ischemia in vivo. Chemical ischemia/hypoxia induced marked dephosphorylation of connexin43, which was accompanied by increased association of connexin43 with c-Src, ERK1/2, and mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 and by decreased association between connexin43 and beta-actin. Moreover, we found that endogenous c-Src in normal astrocytes exists primarily in the Triton X-100-soluble membrane fraction, distinct from the Triton-insoluble fraction, which contains gap junctions. After chemical ischemia/hypoxia, c-Src appeared in the Triton-insoluble fraction and was co-immunoprecipitated with connexin43, suggesting that chemical ischemia/hypoxia induced translocation of c-Src to the Triton-insoluble fraction and association with connexin43. Furthermore, the "dephosphorylated" form of connexin43 was immunoprecipitated by a phosphotyrosine antibody, suggesting tyrosine phosphorylation of connexin43 by c-Src. In addition, the association between connexin43 and c-Src was blocked by inhibition of connexin43 dephosphorylation, suggesting that the interaction between connexin43 and c-Src can be regulated by alterations in the phosphorylation state of connexin43. These results identify new binding partners for connexin43 and demonstrate that interactions between connexin43 and protein kinases and phosphatases are dynamically altered as a consequence of connexin43 phosphorylation.