Expression of pannexin family of proteins in the retina

Dvoriantchikova, Galina; Ivanov, Dmitry; Panchin, Yuri; Shestopalov, Valery I.

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2006.03.026

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Volume 580, Issue 9 , Pages 2178-2182, 17 April 2006

Expression of pannexin family of proteins in the retina

Edited by Maurice Montal

Galina Dvoriantchikova
- Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1638 NW 10th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136, USA
Dmitry Ivanov
- Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1638 NW 10th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics RAS, Moscow, Russia
Yuri Panchin
- Institute for Information Transmission Problems, RAS, Moscow, Russia
- A.N. Belozersky Institute, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Valery I. Shestopalov
- Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1638 NW 10th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Miami Miller, School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
- Corresponding author. Fax: +1 305 547 3658/80.

Received 7 February 2006; received in revised form 5 March 2006; accepted 8 March 2006. published online 16 March 2006.

Abstract

Expression of the Panx1 and Panx2 members of the pannexin family of gap junction proteins was studied in the retina by in situ hybridization and qRT-PCR. Both pannexins showed robust expression across the retina with predominant accumulation in the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). In concordance, immunohistochemical analysis showed accumulation of the Panx1 protein in RGCs, amacrine, horizontal cells and their processes. Two Panx1 isoforms were detected: a ubiquitously expressed 58kDa protein, and a 43kDa isoform that specifically accumulated in the retina and brain. Our results indicated that Panx1 and Panx2 are abundantly expressed in the retina, and may therefore contribute to the electrical and metabolic coupling, or to signaling between retinal neurons via the secondary messengers.