The proteins that form vertebrate gap junctions, the connexins, are highly regulated and have short (,2 hour) half-lives. Phosphorylation of connexin43 (Cx43) affects gap junction assembly, channel gating and turnover. After finding dramatic effects on gap junctions with Akt inhibitors, we created an antibody specific for Cx43 phosphorylated on S373, a potential Akt substrate. We found S373 phosphorylation in cells and skin or heart almost exclusively in larger gap-junctional structures that increased dramatically after wounding or hypoxia. We were able to mechanistically show that Akt-dependent phosphorylation of S373 increases gap junction size and communication by completely eliminating the interaction between Cx43 and ZO-1. Thus, phosphorylation on S373 acts as a molecular 'switch' to rapidly increase gap-junctional communication, potentially leading to initiation of activation and migration of keratinocytes or ischemic injury response in the skin and the heart, respectively.

Suspension of cultured human foreskin keratinocytes (HKs) with trypsin phosphorylates tyrosine residues on an 80-kDa membrane glycoprotein, p80 (Xia, Y., Gil, S. G., and Carter, W. G. (1996) J. Cell Biol. 132, 727-740). Readhesion dephosphorylates p80. Sequencing of a p80 cDNA established identity to CUB domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1), a gene elevated in carcinomas. CDCP1/p80 cDNA encodes three extracellular CUB domains, a transmembrane domain, and two putative cytoplasmic Tyr phosphorylation sites. Treatment of adherent HKs with suramin, a heparin analogue, or inhibitors of phosphotyrosine phosphatases (PTPs; vanadate or calpeptin) increases phosphorylation of p80 and a novel 140-kDa membrane glycoprotein, gp140. Phosphorylated gp140 was identified as a trypsin-sensitive precursor to p80. Identity was confirmed by digestion and phosphorylation studies with recombinant gp140-GFP. Plasmin, a serum protease, also converts gp140 to p80, providing biological significance to the cleavage in wounds. Phosphorylation of gp140 and p80 are mediated by Src family kinases at multiple Tyr residues including Tyr 734 . Dephosphorylation is mediated by PTP(s). Conversion of gp140 to p80 prolongs phosphorylation of p80 in response to suramin and changes in adhesion. This distinguishes gp140 and p80 and explains the relative abundance of phosphorylated p80 in trypsinized HKs. We conclude that phosphorylation of gp140 is dynamic and balanced by Src family kinase and PTPs yielding low equilibrium phosphorylation. We suggest that the balance is altered by conversion of gp140 to p80 and by adhesion, providing a novel transmembrane phosphorylation signal in epithelial wounds.Wounding of quiescent epidermis activates changes in adhesion and cell signaling resulting in keratinocyte migration, basement membrane (BM) 1 repair, and wound closure (1-3).Based on an in vitro model for wound activation, we reported that trypsin detachment of cultured human foreskin keratinocytes (HKs) promotes phosphorylation of tyrosine residues on an 80-kDa membrane glycoprotein (p80) (4). Phosphorylated p80 (P-p80) in suspended HKs is dephosphorylated upon readhesion to laminin 5 via integrins ␣ 6 ␤ 4 and ␣ 3 ␤ 1 . In work here, we purified and characterized p80. We wished to understand whether phosphorylated p80 identified in an in vitro deadhesion/readhesion screen (4) might be involved in physiologically significant wound activation. Quiescent epidermis adheres to laminin 5 in the BM via integrin ␣ 6 ␤ 4 in hemidesmosome (HD) cell junctions. Wounding epidermis generates leading and following subpopulations of keratinocytes at the wound margin (5). Leading keratinocytes migrate over exposed dermal collagen via integrin ␣ 2 ␤ 1 and fibronectin via integrin ␣ 5 ␤ 1 . However, leading cells also deposit laminin 5 as a provisional BM and interact with these deposits via integrin ␣ 3 ␤ 1 (5-7). The interaction of leading cells with deposited laminin 5 generates distinct transmembrane signals when compared with interaction with dermal ligands. For example,...

Phosphorylation of connexin43 (Cx43) on serine368 (S368) has been shown to decrease gap junctional communication via a reduction in unitary channel conductance. Examination of phosphoserine368 (pS368) in normal human skin tissue using a phosphorylation site–specific antibody showed relatively even distribution throughout the epidermal layers. However, 24 h after wounding, but not at 6 or 72 h, pS368 levels were dramatically increased in basal keratinocytes and essentially lost from suprabasal layers adjacent to the wound (i.e., within 200 μm of it). Scratch wounding of primary human keratinocytes caused a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent increase in pS368 in cells adjacent to the scratch, with a time course similar to that found in the wounds. Keratinocytes at the edge of the scratch also transferred dye much less efficiently at 24 h, in a manner dependent on PKC. However, keratinocyte migration to fill the scratch required early (within <6 h) gap junctional communication. Our evidence indicates that PKC-dependent phosphorylation of Cx43 at S368 creates dynamic communication compartments that can temporally and spatially regulate wound healing.