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Review

New Insights on the Role of Connexins and Gap Junctions Channels in Adipose Tissue and Obesity

by
Jorge Enrique González-Casanova
1,
Samuel Durán-Agüero
2,
Nelson Javier Caro-Fuentes
1,
Maria Elena Gamboa-Arancibia
3,
Tamara Bruna
4,
Valmore Bermúdez
5 and
Diana Marcela Rojas-Gómez
6,*
1
Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago 8910060, Chile
2
Facultad de Ciencias Para el Cuidado de la Salud, Universidad San Sebastián, Sede Los Leones, Lota 2465, Providencia, Santiago 7500000, Chile
3
Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Av. Libertador Bernardo O’higgins 3363, Estación Central, Santiago 9170022, Chile
4
Centro de Investigación Austral Biotech, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Santo Tomás, Avenida Ejercito 146, Santiago 8320000, Chile
5
Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla 080002, Colombia
6
Escuela de Nutrición y Dietética, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago 8370321, Chile
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(22), 12145; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212145
Submission received: 11 October 2021 / Revised: 5 November 2021 / Accepted: 5 November 2021 / Published: 10 November 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connexin and Pannexin Signaling in Health and Disease)
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Abstract

Due to the inability to curb the excessive increase in the prevalence of obesity and overweight, it is necessary to comprehend in more detail the factors involved in the pathophysiology and to appreciate more clearly the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of obesity. Thus, understanding the biological regulation of adipose tissue is of fundamental relevance. Connexin, a protein that forms intercellular membrane channels of gap junctions and unopposed hemichannels, plays a key role in adipogenesis and in the maintenance of adipose tissue homeostasis. The expression and function of Connexin 43 (Cx43) during the different stages of the adipogenesis are differentially regulated. Moreover, it has been shown that cell–cell communication decreases dramatically upon differentiation into adipocytes. Furthermore, inhibition of Cx43 degradation or constitutive overexpression of Cx43 blocks adipocyte differentiation. In the first events of adipogenesis, the connexin is highly phosphorylated, which is likely associated with enhanced Gap Junction (GJ) communication. In an intermediate state of adipocyte differentiation, Cx43 phosphorylation decreases, as it is displaced from the membrane and degraded through the proteasome; thus, Cx43 total protein is reduced. Cx is involved in cardiac disease as well as in obesity-related cardiovascular diseases. Different studies suggest that obesity together with a high-fat diet are related to the production of remodeling factors associated with expression and distribution of Cx43 in the atrium.
Keywords: connexins; gap junctions channels; adipose tissue; obesity; cardiovascular diseases connexins; gap junctions channels; adipose tissue; obesity; cardiovascular diseases

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MDPI and ACS Style

González-Casanova, J.E.; Durán-Agüero, S.; Caro-Fuentes, N.J.; Gamboa-Arancibia, M.E.; Bruna, T.; Bermúdez, V.; Rojas-Gómez, D.M. New Insights on the Role of Connexins and Gap Junctions Channels in Adipose Tissue and Obesity. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 12145. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212145

AMA Style

González-Casanova JE, Durán-Agüero S, Caro-Fuentes NJ, Gamboa-Arancibia ME, Bruna T, Bermúdez V, Rojas-Gómez DM. New Insights on the Role of Connexins and Gap Junctions Channels in Adipose Tissue and Obesity. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021; 22(22):12145. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212145

Chicago/Turabian Style

González-Casanova, Jorge Enrique, Samuel Durán-Agüero, Nelson Javier Caro-Fuentes, Maria Elena Gamboa-Arancibia, Tamara Bruna, Valmore Bermúdez, and Diana Marcela Rojas-Gómez. 2021. "New Insights on the Role of Connexins and Gap Junctions Channels in Adipose Tissue and Obesity" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, no. 22: 12145. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212145

APA Style

González-Casanova, J. E., Durán-Agüero, S., Caro-Fuentes, N. J., Gamboa-Arancibia, M. E., Bruna, T., Bermúdez, V., & Rojas-Gómez, D. M. (2021). New Insights on the Role of Connexins and Gap Junctions Channels in Adipose Tissue and Obesity. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(22), 12145. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212145

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