Cited by 481Connexins and lens biologyCellular Mechanics and InteractionsBone Metabolism and Diseases

Mechanical Strain Opens Connexin 43 Hemichannels in Osteocytes: A Novel Mechanism for the Release of Prostaglandin

Open access
Cherian, Priscilla P., Siller-Jackson, Arlene J., Gu, Sumin, Wang, Xin, Bonewald, Lynda F., Sprague, Eugene, Jiang, Jean X.·2005·Molecular Biology of the Cell

Abstract

Mechanosensing bone osteocytes express large amounts of connexin (Cx)43, the component of gap junctions; yet, gap junctions are only active at the small tips of their dendritic processes, suggesting another function for Cx43. Both primary osteocytes and the osteocyte-like MLO-Y4 cells respond to fluid flow shear stress by releasing intracellular prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ). Cells plated at lower densities release more PGE 2 than cells plated at higher densities. This response was significantly reduced by antisense to Cx43 and by the gap junction and hemichannel inhibitors 18 β-glycyrrhetinic acid and carbenoxolone, even in cells without physical contact, suggesting the involvement of Cx43-hemichannels. Inhibitors of other channels, such as the purinergic receptor P2X 7 and the prostaglandin transporter PGT, had no effect on PGE 2 release. Cell surface biotinylation analysis showed that surface expression of Cx43 was increased by shear stress. Together, these results suggest fluid flow shear stress induces the translocation of Cx43 to the membrane surface and that unapposed hemichannels formed by Cx43 serve as a novel portal for the release of PGE 2 in response to mechanical strain.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1091/mbc.e04-10-0912

Cites

38 of 38 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 39 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [4]4. Baylink, T. M., Mohan, S., Fitzsimmons, R. J., and Baylink, D. J. (1995). Evidence that the mitogenic effect of prostaglandin E2 on human bone cells involves protein kinase C and calcium pathways. J. Bone Miner. Res. 9 (suppl 31), B23. [[Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=J.%20Bone%20Miner.%20Res&volume=9&publication_year=1995&pages=B23&)]

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Cherian, P. P., Siller-Jackson, A. J., Gu, S., Wang, X., Bonewald, L. F., Sprague, E., & Jiang, J. X.
Affiliations
  • The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center (US)
  • University of Missouri–Kansas City (US)
Venue
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Published
2005-07
Volume
16
Issue
7
Pages
3100-3106
ISSN
  • 1059-1524 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-4586
OpenAlex
W2101299206
Cited by
481
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 40 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 31
FWCI
9.16
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Molecular Biology of the Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (AQ‐1507, AR46798)
  • National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (P01AR046798, AR 46798)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Connexins and lens biology
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular Mechanics and Interactions
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bone Metabolism and Diseases
Keywords
connexin 43, hemichannels, osteocytes, prostaglandin E2 release, fluid shear stress, mechanotransduction, gap junctions, MLO-Y4 cells, 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid, carbenoxolone, cell surface translocation, bone mechanosensing
MeSH terms
Animals, Bone and Bones, Carbenoxolone, Cell Line, Cell Membrane, Cells, Cultured, Chickens, Dendrites, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Osteocytes, Prostaglandins, Stress, Mechanical, Blotting, Western, Oligonucleotides, Antisense, Gap Junctions, Connexin 43, Receptors, Purinergic P2, Biotinylation, Mice, Rats, Receptors, Purinergic P2X7

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review