Biology:GJB2

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Short description: Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens


A representation of the 3D structure of the protein myoglobin showing turquoise α-helices.
Generic protein structure example

Gap junction beta-2 protein (GJB2), also known as connexin 26 (Cx26) — is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GJB2 gene.

Clinical significance

Defects in this gene lead to the most common form of congenital deafness in developed countries, called DFNB1 (also known as connexin 26 deafness or GJB2-related deafness).[1] One fairly common mutation is the deletion of one guanine from a string of six, resulting in a frameshift and termination of the protein at amino acid number 13. Having two copies of this mutation results in deafness.[2]

Connexin 26 also plays a role in tumor suppression through mediation of the cell cycle.[3] The abnormal expression of Cx26, correlated with several types of human cancers, may serve as a prognostic factor for cancers such as colorectal cancer,[4] breast cancer,[5] and bladder cancer.[6] Furthermore, Cx26 over-expression is suggested to promote cancer development by facilitating cell migration and invasion[7] and by stimulating the self-perpetuation ability of cancer stem cells.[8]

Function

Gap junctions were first characterized by electron microscopy as regionally specialized structures on plasma membranes of contacting adherent cells. These structures were shown to consist of cell-to-cell channels. Proteins, called connexins, purified from fractions of enriched gap junctions from different tissues differ. The connexins are designated by their molecular mass. Another system of nomenclature divides gap junction proteins into two categories, alpha and beta, according to sequence similarities at the nucleotide and amino acid levels. For example, CX43 (GJA1) is designated alpha-1 gap junction protein, whereas GJB1 (CX32), and GJB2 (CX26; this protein) are called beta-1 and beta-2 gap junction proteins, respectively. This nomenclature emphasizes that GJB1 and GJB2 are more homologous to each other than either of them is to gap junction protein, alpha GJA1.[9]

See also

References

  1. "Connexin 26 mutations in hereditary non-syndromic sensorineural deafness". Nature 387 (6628): 80–3. May 1997. doi:10.1038/387080a0. PMID 9139825. Bibcode1997Natur.387...80K. 
  2. "Updated carrier rates for c.35delG (GJB2) associated with hearing loss in Russia and common c.35delG haplotypes in Siberia". BMC Medical Genetics 19 (1): 138. August 2018. doi:10.1186/s12881-018-0650-5. PMID 30086704. 
  3. "Connexin 26 induces growth suppression, apoptosis and increased efficacy of doxorubicin in prostate cancer cells". Oncology Reports 11 (2): 537–41. February 2004. PMID 14719096. https://www.spandidos-publications.com/or/11/2/537. 
  4. "Clinical significance of the expression of connexin26 in colorectal cancer". Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 29: 79. June 2010. doi:10.1186/1756-9966-29-79. PMID 20565955. 
  5. "The potential prognostic value of connexin 26 and 46 expression in neoadjuvant-treated breast cancer". BMC Cancer 13: 50. February 2013. doi:10.1186/1471-2407-13-50. PMID 23374644. 
  6. "Connexin 26 is abnormally expressed in bladder cancer" (in English). The Journal of Urology 169 (3): 1135–7. March 2003. doi:10.1097/01.ju.0000041954.91331.df. PMID 12576868. http://www.jurology.com/article/S0022-5347(05)63913-4/fulltext. 
  7. "Connexins in migration during development and cancer". Developmental Biology 401 (1): 143–51. May 2015. doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2014.12.023. PMID 25553982. 
  8. "Cx26 drives self-renewal in triple-negative breast cancer via interaction with NANOG and focal adhesion kinase" (in En). Nature Communications 9 (1): 578. February 2018. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-02938-1. PMID 29422613. Bibcode2018NatCo...9..578T. 
  9. "Entrez Gene: GJB2 gap junction protein, beta 2, 26kDa". https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=gene&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=2706. 

Further reading