AccScience Publishing / JCTR / Volume 3 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.18053/jctres.03.2017S1.004
REVIEW

Connexin-based signaling and drug-induced hepatotoxicity 

Michaël Maes1 Mathieu Vinken1
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1 Department of In Vitro Toxicology and Dermato-Cosmetology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
Received: 1 September 2016 | Revised: 27 September 2016 | Accepted: 12 October 2016 | Published online: 12 February 2017
© 2017 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

Being critical mediators of liver homeostasis, connexins and their channels are frequently involved in liver toxicity. In the current paper, specific attention is paid to actions of hepatotoxic drugs on these communi- cative structures. In a first part, an overview is provided on the structural, regulatory and functional proper ties of connexin-based channels in the liver. In the second part, documented effects of acetaminophen, hypolipidemic drugs, phenobarbital and methapyriline on connexin signaling are discussed. Furthermore, the relevance of this subject for the fields of clinical and in vitro toxicology is demonstrated.

Relevance for patients: The role of connexin signaling in drug-induced hepatotoxicity may be of high clinical relevance, as it offers perspectives for the therapeutic treatment of such insults by interfering with connexin channel opening. 

Keywords
gap junction
hemichannel
connexin
hepatotoxicity
drug-induced liver injury
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Journal of Clinical and Translational Research, Electronic ISSN: 2424-810X Print ISSN: 2382-6533, Published by AccScience Publishing