International Joint Research Group - Liver Connexin and Pannexin Research Group (LCPR)

LIVER DISEASE CURRENTLY IS THE FIFTH MOST COMMON CAUSE OF DEATH WORLDWIDE AND IMPOSES AN INCREASING ECONOMIC BURDEN ON SOCIETY. CONSEQUENTLY, THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR EFFICIENT DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES IN THE HEPATOLOGY FIELD. MAJOR FOCUS HAS BEEN PUT LATELY ON CONNEXIN HEMICHANNELS AND PANNEXIN CHANNELS, WHICH MEDIATE INTERCELLULAR AND PARACRINE COMMUNICATION. CONNEXIN AND PANNEXIN EXPRESSION STRONGLY ALTERS DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF CHRONIC LIVER PATHOLOGY, RENDERING THESE PROTEINS POTENTIAL DIAGNOSTIC BIOMARKERS. IN ADDITION, A SUBSET OF THESE CHANNELS BECOMES SPECIFICALLY ACTIVE DURING LIVER DISEASE, SUGGESTING A ROLE AS DRUG TARGETS. THE GROWING WORLDWIDE INTEREST IN THIS AREA IS EVIDENCED BY THE SEVERAL CONNEXIN- AND PANNEXIN-RELATED REPORTS PUBLISHED IN HIGH-IMPACT FACTOR JOURNALS IN RECENT YEARS AS WELL AS BY THE COMMITMENT OF LEADING FUNDING AGENCIES, INCLUDING THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL, TO FUND THIS KIND OF RESEARCH. THE PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL JOINT RESEARCH GROUP IS RAISED IN THIS CONTEXT AND IS EXPECTED TO ADD CONSIDERABLE VALUE TO BOTH THE FUNDAMENTAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH CONCERNED. THIS INITIATIVE IS ALSO ANTICIPATED TO INCREASE THE VISIBILITY OF BOTH INSTITUTIONS IN THE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH LANDSCAPE.