Inhibition of gap junctional intercellular communication by an anti-migraine agent, flunarizine

Joo Hye Yeo; Eun Ju Choi; Jinu Lee

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0222326

Inhibition of gap junctional intercellular communication by an anti-migraine agent, flunarizine

Joo Hye Yeo, Eun Ju Choi, Jinu Lee

Department of Pharmacy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Gap junctions (GJs), which consist of proteins called connexins, are intercellular channels that allow the passage of ions, second messengers, and small molecules. GJs and connexins are considered as emerging therapeutic targets for various diseases. Previously, we screened numerous compounds using our recently developed iodide yellow fluorescent protein gap junctional intercellular communication (I-YFP GJIC) assay and found that flunarizine (FNZ), used for migraine prophylaxis and as an add-on therapy for epilepsy, inhibits GJIC in LN215 human glioma cells. In this study, we confirmed that FNZ inhibits GJIC using the I-YFP GJIC assay. We demonstrated that FNZ inhibits GJ activities via a mechanism that is independent of calcium channels and dopaminergic D₂, histaminergic H₁, or 5-HT receptors. In addition, we showed that FNZ significantly increases connexin 43 (C×43) phosphorylation on the cell surface, but does not alter the total amount of Cx43. The beneficial effects of FNZ on migraines and epilepsy might be related to GJ inhibition.

Original language	English
Article number	e0222326
Journal	PloS one
Volume	14
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222326
Publication status	Published - 2019 Sept 1

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2011-0023701, 2016R1D1A1A02937397, and 2018R1A6A1A03023718), and partially supported by the Graduate School of YONSEI University Research Scholarship Grants in 2018.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Yeo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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title = "Inhibition of gap junctional intercellular communication by an anti-migraine agent, flunarizine",

abstract = "Gap junctions (GJs), which consist of proteins called connexins, are intercellular channels that allow the passage of ions, second messengers, and small molecules. GJs and connexins are considered as emerging therapeutic targets for various diseases. Previously, we screened numerous compounds using our recently developed iodide yellow fluorescent protein gap junctional intercellular communication (I-YFP GJIC) assay and found that flunarizine (FNZ), used for migraine prophylaxis and as an add-on therapy for epilepsy, inhibits GJIC in LN215 human glioma cells. In this study, we confirmed that FNZ inhibits GJIC using the I-YFP GJIC assay. We demonstrated that FNZ inhibits GJ activities via a mechanism that is independent of calcium channels and dopaminergic D2, histaminergic H1, or 5-HT receptors. In addition, we showed that FNZ significantly increases connexin 43 (C×43) phosphorylation on the cell surface, but does not alter the total amount of Cx43. The beneficial effects of FNZ on migraines and epilepsy might be related to GJ inhibition.",

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note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2011-0023701, 2016R1D1A1A02937397, and 2018R1A6A1A03023718), and partially supported by the Graduate School of YONSEI University Research Scholarship Grants in 2018. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Yeo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.",

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N2 - Gap junctions (GJs), which consist of proteins called connexins, are intercellular channels that allow the passage of ions, second messengers, and small molecules. GJs and connexins are considered as emerging therapeutic targets for various diseases. Previously, we screened numerous compounds using our recently developed iodide yellow fluorescent protein gap junctional intercellular communication (I-YFP GJIC) assay and found that flunarizine (FNZ), used for migraine prophylaxis and as an add-on therapy for epilepsy, inhibits GJIC in LN215 human glioma cells. In this study, we confirmed that FNZ inhibits GJIC using the I-YFP GJIC assay. We demonstrated that FNZ inhibits GJ activities via a mechanism that is independent of calcium channels and dopaminergic D2, histaminergic H1, or 5-HT receptors. In addition, we showed that FNZ significantly increases connexin 43 (C×43) phosphorylation on the cell surface, but does not alter the total amount of Cx43. The beneficial effects of FNZ on migraines and epilepsy might be related to GJ inhibition.

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Inhibition of gap junctional intercellular communication by an anti-migraine agent, flunarizine

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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