Title:Connexin43 and Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
Volume: 18
Issue: 1
Author(s): Lingyun Zu, Ningxin Wen, Changjie Liu, Mingming Zhao and Lemin Zheng*
Affiliation:
- The Department of Cardiology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China; Institute of Cardiovaslular Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191,China
Keywords:
Gap junction, connexin 43, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion, electrophysiology, polypeptide, endothelial cells.
Abstract: Background: Recently, the treatment and prevention of ischemic cardiomyopathy is one
of the emerging research topics in the cardiovascular field. Gap junction is the basic structure of
cardiac electrophysiology. Connexin is the basic unit of gap junctions. Connexin43(CX43) is the
most abundant member of Cx family in the heart, the normal expression of Cx43 is important for
heart development, electrically coupled cardiomyocytes activities and coordination of myocardial
function. The connection between Cx43 and myocardial ischemia/reperfusion or reperfusion injury
has become the focus of current research.
Methods: We undertook a structured search of bibliographic database for peer-reviewed research
literature using a focused review question and inclusion/exclusion criteria. The quality of retrieved
papers was appraised using standard tools. The characteristics of screened papers were described,
and a deductive qualitative content analysis methodology was applied to analyze the interventions
and findings of included studies using a conceptual framework.
Results: Twenty-one papers were included in the review, eight papers outlined the relationship of
Cx43 and reperfusion arrhythmias. Eight papers pointed out the effect on the infarct size of Cx43.
Conclusion: The findings of this review confirm that Cx43 is the most abundant member of Cx
family in the heart and is vital for myocardial protection during ischemia/reperfusion process and for
ischemia/reperfusion injury. Many of its mechanism are still not very clear and require future
research in the future.
