PMID- 11745604
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20020122
LR  - 20231213
IS  - 0021-9967 (Print)
IS  - 0021-9967 (Linking)
VI  - 440
IP  - 1
DP  - 2001 Nov 5
TI  - Differential expression of connexin26 and connexin32 in the pre-Botzinger complex 
      of neonatal and adult rat.
PG  - 12-9
AB  - The pre-Botzinger complex (pre-BotC) is hypothesized to be the site for 
      respiratory rhythm generation in mammals. Studies examining the cellular 
      mechanisms mediating rhythm generation have focused on the role of chemically 
      mediated synaptic interactions; however, electrotonic synaptic interactions 
      (i.e., electrotonic coupling), which occur by means of gap junctions, may also 
      play a role. Here, we used immunoblot and immunohistochemical analyses to 
      determine whether the pre-BotC contains the gap junction proteins necessary for 
      electrotonic communication and whether the presence and distribution of these gap 
      junction proteins show a developmental change in expression. We found that both 
      connexin26 (Cx26) and connexin32 (Cx32) were expressed in pre-BotC neurons of 
      neonatal and adult rats; however, the relative amounts and their distribution 
      varied by age. Cx26 labeling was seen in a high proportion of pre-BotC neurons in 
      neonatal rats < or = 7 days postnatal (P7) but declined with increasing age. In 
      contrast, Cx32 labeling was sparse in pre-BotC neurons of neonatal rats < or = 
      P7, but increased with increasing age; the highest proportion was seen in adult 
      rats. These data suggest the potential for gap junctional communication in the 
      pre-BotC of both neonatal and adult rats, and we propose that the gap junction 
      proteins Cx26 and Cx32 form the neuroanatomic substrate for this gap junctional 
      communication, which may be important in the synchronization of neural activity 
      generating respiratory rhythm.
CI  - Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
FAU - Solomon, I C
AU  - Solomon IC
AD  - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Stony 
      Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794-8661, USA. icsolomon@physiology.pnb.sunysb.edu
FAU - Halat, T J
AU  - Halat TJ
FAU - El-Maghrabi, R
AU  - El-Maghrabi R
FAU - O'Neal, M H 3rd
AU  - O'Neal MH 3rd
LA  - eng
GR  - HL63175/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
PL  - United States
TA  - J Comp Neurol
JT  - The Journal of comparative neurology
JID - 0406041
RN  - 0 (Connexins)
RN  - 0 (Gjb2 protein, rat)
RN  - 127120-53-0 (Connexin 26)
SB  - IM
MH  - Aging/*metabolism
MH  - Animals
MH  - Brain/*physiology
MH  - Connexin 26
MH  - Connexins/*metabolism
MH  - Immunoblotting
MH  - Immunohistochemistry
MH  - *Periodicity
MH  - Rats/*physiology
MH  - Rats, Sprague-Dawley
MH  - *Respiratory Physiological Phenomena
MH  - Gap Junction beta-1 Protein
EDAT- 2001/12/18 10:00
MHDA- 2002/01/23 10:01
CRDT- 2001/12/18 10:00
PHST- 2001/12/18 10:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2002/01/23 10:01 [medline]
PHST- 2001/12/18 10:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1002/cne.1366 [pii]
AID - 10.1002/cne.1366 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Comp Neurol. 2001 Nov 5;440(1):12-9. doi: 10.1002/cne.1366.