Targeting connexin43 expression accelerates the rate of wound repair.

The repair of tissue damage is a key survival process in all organisms and involves the coordinated activation of several cell types. Cell-cell communication is clearly fundamental to this process, and a great deal is known about extracellular communication within the wound site via cytokines. Here we show that direct cell-cell communication through connexin 43 (Cx43) gap junction channels also plays a major role in the wound healing process.

Dynamic changes in connexin expression correlate with key events in the wound healing process.

Wound healing is a complex process requiring communication for the precise co-ordination of different cell types. The role of extracellular communication through growth factors in the wound healing process has been extensively documented, but the role of direct intercellular communication via gap junctions has scarcely been investigated. We have examined the dynamics of gap junction protein (Connexins 26, 30, 31.