The purpose of this study was to determine whether oligonucleotides the size of siRNA are permeable to gap junctions and whether a specific siRNA for DNA polymerase β (pol β) can move from one cell to another via gap junctions, thus allowing one cell to inhibit gene expression in another cell directly. To test this hypothesis, fluorescently labelled oligonucleotides (morpholinos) 12, 16 and 24 nucleotides in length were synthesized and introduced into one cell of a pair using a patch pipette. These probes moved from cell to cell through gap junctions composed of connexin 43 (Cx43). Moreover, the rate of transfer declined with increasing length of the oligonucleotide. To test whether siRNA for pol β was permeable to gap junctions we used three cell lines: (1) NRK cells that endogenously express Cx43; (2) Mβ16tsA cells, which express Cx32 and Cx26 but not Cx43; and (3) connexin-deficient N2A cells. NRK and Mβ16tsA cells were each divided into two groups, one of which was stably transfected to express a small hairpin RNA (shRNA), which gives rise to siRNA that targets pol β. These two pol β knockdown cell lines (NRK-kcdc and Mβ16tsA-kcdc) were co-cultured with labelled wild type, NRK-wt or Mβ16tsA-wt cells or N2A cells. The levels of pol β mRNA and protein were determined by semiquantitative RT-PCR and immunoblotting. Co-culture of Mβ16tsA-kcdc cells with Mβ16tsA-wt, N2A or NRK-wt cells had no effect on pol β levels in these cells. Similarly, co-culture of NRK-kcdc with N2A cells had no effect on pol β levels in the N2A cells. In contrast, co-culture of NRK-kcdc with NRK-wt cells resulted in a significant reduction in pol β in the wt cells. The inability of Mβ16tsA-kcdc cells to transfer siRNA is consistent with the fact that oligonucleotides of the 12 nucleotide length were not permeable to Cx32/Cx26 channels. This suggested that Cx43 but not Cx32/Cx26 channels allowed the cell-to-cell movement of the siRNA. These results support the novel hypothesis that non-hybridized and possible hybridized forms of siRNA can move between mammalian cells through connexin-specific gap junctions.

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are a multipotent cell population with the potential to be a cellular repair or delivery system provided that they communicate with target cells such as cardiac myocytes via gap junctions. Immunostaining revealed typical punctate staining for Cx43 and Cx40 along regions of intimate cell-to-cell contact between hMSCs. The staining patterns for Cx45 rather were typified by granular cytoplasmic staining. hMSCs exhibited cell-to-cell coupling to each other, to HeLa cells transfected with Cx40, Cx43 and Cx45 and to acutely isolated canine ventricular myocytes. The junctional currents (I j ) recorded between hMSC pairs exhibited quasi-symmetrical and asymmetrical voltage (V j ) dependence. I j recordsfromhMSC-HeLaCx43andhMSC-HeLaCx40cellpairsalsoshowedsymmetricaland asymmetrical V j dependence, while hMSC-HeLaCx45 pairs always produced asymmetrical I j with pronounced V j gating when the Cx45 side was negative. Symmetrical I j suggests that the dominant functional channel is homotypic, while the asymmetrical I j suggests the activity of another channel type (heterotypic, heteromeric or both). The hMSCs exhibited a spectrum of single channels with transition conductances (γ j ) of 30-80 pS. The macroscopic I j obtained from hMSC-cardiac myocyte cell pairs exhibited asymmetrical V j dependence, while single channel events revealed γ j of the size range 40-100 pS. hMSC coupling via gap junctions to other cell types provides the basis for considering them as a therapeutic repair or cellular delivery system to syncytia such as the myocardium.

Gap junction channels exhibit connexin dependent biophysical properties, including selective intercellular passage of larger solutes, such as second messengers and siRNA. Here, we report the determination of cyclic nucleotide (cAMP) permeability through gap junction channels composed of Cx43, Cx40, or Cx26 using simultaneous measurements of junctional conductance and intercellular transfer of cAMP. For cAMP detection the recipient cells were transfected with a reporter gene, the cyclic nucleotide-modulated channel from sea urchin sperm (SpIH). cAMP was introduced via patch pipette into the cell of the pair that did not express SpIH. SpIH-derived currents (I h) were recorded from the other cell of a pair that expressed SpIH. cAMP diffusion through gap junction channels to the neighboring SpIH-transfected cell resulted in a five to sixfold increase in I h current over time. Cyclic AMP transfer was observed for homotypic Cx43 channels over a wide range of conductances. However, homotypic Cx40 and homotypic Cx26 exhibited reduced cAMP permeability in comparison to Cx43. The cAMP/K+ permeability ratios were 0.18, 0.027, and 0.018 for Cx43, Cx26, and Cx40, respectively. Cx43 channels were ∼10 to 7 times more permeable to cAMP than Cx40 or Cx26 (Cx43 > Cx26 ≥ Cx40), suggesting that these channels have distinctly different selectivity for negatively charged larger solutes involved in metabolic/biochemical coupling. These data suggest that Cx43 permeability to cAMP results in a rapid delivery of cAMP from cell to cell in sufficient quantity before degradation by phosphodiesterase to trigger relevant intracellular responses. The data also suggest that the reduced permeability of Cx26 and Cx40 might compromise their ability to deliver cAMP rapidly enough to cause functional changes in a recipient cell.

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