Abstract |
Gap junction channels link cytoplasms of adjacent cells. Connexins, their constitutive proteins, are essential in cell homeostasis and are implicated in numerous physiological processes. Spermatogenesis is a sophisticated model of germ cell proliferation, differentiation, survival, and apoptosis, in which a connexin isotype, connexin 43, plays a crucial role as evidenced by genomic approaches based on gene deletion. The balance between cell proliferation/differentiation/apoptosis is a prerequisite for maintaining levels of spermatozoa essential for fertility and for limiting anarchic cell proliferation, a major risk of testis tumor. The present review highlights the emerging role of connexins in testis pathogenesis, focusing specifically on two intimately interconnected human testicular diseases ( azoospermia with impaired spermatogenesis and testicular germ cell tumors), whose incidence increased during the last decades. This work proposes connexin 43 as a potential cancer diagnostic and prognostic marker, as well as a promising therapeutic target for testicular diseases.
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Authors | Daniel Chevallier, Diane Carette, Dominique Segretain, Jérome Gilleron, Georges Pointis |
Journal | Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS
(Cell Mol Life Sci)
Vol. 70
Issue 7
Pg. 1207-20
(Apr 2013)
ISSN: 1420-9071 [Electronic] Switzerland |
PMID | 22918484
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)
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Chemical References |
- Biomarkers, Tumor
- Connexin 43
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Topics |
- Animals
- Biomarkers, Tumor
(genetics, physiology)
- Cell Proliferation
- Connexin 43
(genetics, metabolism, physiology)
- Genes, cdc
(genetics, physiology)
- Germinoma
(diagnosis, genetics, therapy)
- Humans
- Male
- Models, Biological
- Prognosis
- Testicular Diseases
(diagnosis, genetics, therapy)
- Testicular Neoplasms
(diagnosis, genetics, therapy)
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