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(Circulation Research. 2006;99:93.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.

Integrative Physiology

Translocation of Connexin 43 to the Inner Mitochondrial Membrane of Cardiomyocytes Through the Heat Shock Protein 90–Dependent TOM Pathway and Its Importance for Cardioprotection

Antonio Rodriguez-Sinovas^*, Kerstin Boengler^*, Alberto Cabestrero, Petra Gres, Miriam Morente, Marisol Ruiz-Meana, Ina Konietzka, Elisabet Miró, Andreas Totzeck, Gerd Heusch, Rainer Schulz, David Garcia-Dorado

From the Servicio de Cardiologia (A.R.-S., A.C., M.M., M.R.-M., E.M., D.G.-D.), Hospital Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, Spain; and Institut für Pathophysiologie (K.B., P.G., I.K., A.T., G.H., R.S.), Universitätsklinikum Essen, Germany.

Correspondence to David Garcia-Dorado, Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital Universitario Vall d’Hebron, Pg. Vall d’Hebron 119, 08035 Barcelona, Spain. E-mail dgdorado{at}ir.vhebron.net

We have previously shown that connexin 43 (Cx43) is present in mitochondria, that its genetic depletion abolishes the protection of ischemia- and diazoxide-induced preconditioning, and that it is involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation in response to diazoxide. Here we investigated the intramitochondrial localization of Cx43, the mechanism of Cx43 translocation to mitochondria and the effect of inhibiting translocation on the protection of preconditioning. Confocal microscopy of mitochondria devoid of the outer membrane and Western blotting on fractionated mitochondria showed that Cx43 is located at the inner mitochondrial membrane, and coimmunoprecipitation of Cx43 with Tom20 (Translocase of the outer membrane 20) and with heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) indicated that it interacts with the regular mitochondrial protein import machinery. In isolated rat hearts, geldanamycin, a blocker of Hsp90-dependent translocation of proteins to the inner mitochondrial membrane through the TOM pathway, rapidly (15 minutes) reduced mitochondrial Cx43 content by approximately one-third in the absence or presence of diazoxide. Geldanamycin alone had no effect on infarct size, but it ablated the protection against infarction afforded by diazoxide. Geldanamycin abolished the 2-fold increase in mitochondrial Cx43 induced by 2 preconditioning cycles of ischemia/reperfusion, but this effect was not associated with reduced protection. These results demonstrate that Cx43 is transported to the inner mitochondrial membrane through translocation via the TOM complex and that a normal mitochondrial Cx43 content is important for the diazoxide-related pathway of preconditioning.

Key Words: mitochondria • heat shock protein • geldanamycin • connexin 43 • TOM (Translocase of the Outer Membrane) complex

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Mitochondria and Preconditioning: A Connexin Connection?

Andrew P. Halestrap
Circ. Res. 2006 99: 10-12. [Full Text] [PDF]

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