Touch is detected through receptors located in the skin and the activation of channels in
sensory nerve fibres. Epidermal keratinocytes themselves, however, may sense mechanical …

Cardiovascular diseases including blood vessel disorders represent a major cause of death
globally. The essential roles played by local and systemic vascular inflammation in the …

Connexin (Cx) mimetic peptides (eg, Gap27: SRPTEKTIFII; Peptide5: VDCFLSRPTEKT)
reversibly inhibit hemichannel (HCh) and gap junction channel (GJCh) function in a …

Direct cell-to-cell transfer of ions and small signaling molecules via gap junctions plays a
key role in vessel wall homeostasis. Vascular endothelial gap junctional channels are …

Multicellular organisms have developed a variety of mechanisms that allow communication
between their cells. Whereas some of these systems, as neurotransmission or hormones …

Endothelial cells participate in extracellular ATP release elicited by mechanosensors. To
characterize the dynamic interactions between mechanical and chemical factors that …

Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction and atherosclerotic plaque formation coincide with human
circulatory regions where blood flow is altered (disturbed). In areas of undisturbed uniform …

Cells of multicellular organisms need to communicate and have evolved different
mechanisms of intercellular communication, the most direct and quickest of which is through …

Airway epithelium has been shown to exhibit intracellular calcium waves after mechanical
stimulation. Two classes of mechanism have been proposed to explain calcium wave …

Genetic studies have linked many nonsyndromic deafness patients to mutations in genes
coding for gap junction proteins. To better understand molecular identities of gap junctions …