Decreased connexin 43 in astrocytes inhibits the neuroinflammatory reaction in an acute mouse model of neonatal sepsis

作     者：Jing-Jing Zhou Cheng Cheng Zilong Qiu Wen-Hao Zhou Guo-Qiang Cheng 

作者机构：Department of NeonatologyChildren's Hospital of Fudan University Institute of NeuroscienceShanghai Institutes for Biological SciencesChinese Academy of Sciences 

出 版 物：《Neuroscience Bulletin》 (神经科学通报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2015年第31卷第6期

页      面：763-768页

核心收录：

学科分类：1002[医学-临床医学] 100202[医学-儿科学] 10[医学] 

基　　金：supported by the National Science Foundation of China (81171148) Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (10411960700) 

主　　题：astrocyte gap junction Cx43 neonatalsepsis 

摘      要：Neonatal sepsis is common in neonatal intensive care units, often complicated by injury to the immature brain. Previous studies have shown that the expression of the gap junction protein connexin 43 （Cx43） in the brain decreases when stimulated by neuro-inflammatory drugs such as lipopolysaccharide （LPS）. Here we showed that partial deletion of Cx43 in astrocytes resulted in weakened inflammatory responses. The up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines was significantly reduced in mice with partial deletion of Cx43 in astrocytes compared with wild-type littermates after systemic LPS injection. Moreover, microglial activation was inhibited in mice with partial deletion of Cx43. These results showed that Cx43 in astrocytes plays a critical role in neuro-inflammatory responses. This work provides a potential therapeutic target for inhibiting neuro- inflammatory responses in neonatal sepsis.