Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42095943›Full record

ReviewBlood2026

Bone marrow stem cell connexins: misconceptions and new insights.

Abhishek K Singh, Kathrine S Rallis, Jose A Cancelas

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Blood, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Abhishek K SinghDivision of BM Transplantation and Cell Therapies, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.ORCID 0000-0002-8703-7820
Kathrine S RallisDivision of BM Transplantation and Cell Therapies, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.
Jose A CancelasDivision of BM Transplantation and Cell Therapies, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.ORCID 0000-0002-1291-7233

Funding

Novel Strategies to Improve Blood Transfusion PracticeP01HL158688 · NHLBI · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI Hongbo R Luo · 2022 to 2026
$12.9M
TRANSFUSION BIOLOGY AND MEDICINET32HL066987 · NHLBI · CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BOSTON · PI JOHN P MANIS · 2001 to 2026
$10.2M
Targeted Inhibition in LeukemiaR01CA237016 · NCI · CINCINNATI CHILDRENS HOSP MED CTR · PI CANCELAS, JOSE A., NASSAR, NICOLAS · 2020 to 2023
$2.0M
Mitochondria mediated intercellular metabolic coupling in bone marrow regenerationR01DK124115 · NIDDK · DANA-FARBER CANCER INST · PI Jose A. Cancelas · 2020 to 2026
$1.9M
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA237016NHLBI NIH HHS P01 HL158688NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL066987NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK124115
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

abstractHematopoietic regeneration requires coordinated activation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and adaptive remodeling of the bone marrow microenvironment to meet extreme metabolic and oxidative demands imposed by cytotoxic injury, transplantation, and inflammation. Although soluble factors and cytokine signaling are central to this process, emerging evidence identifies direct intercellular communication as a critical regulatory layer in stress hematopoiesis. Connexins, particularly connexin-43 (Cx43), form an evolutionarily conserved communication network that integrates metabolic coupling, redox buffering, and organelle dynamics across hematopoietic and stromal compartments. Beyond canonical gap junction channel activity, connexins exert nonjunctional, compartment-specific functions through cytoplasmic, nuclear, and mitochondrial pools that regulate signaling scaffolds, transcriptional programs, cytoskeletal organization, mitochondrial dynamics, calcium homeostasis, and bioenergetics. In HSPCs, mitochondrial Cx43 functions as a metabolic checkpoint that preserves regenerative capacity by supporting oxidative phosphorylation, limiting chronic adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase activation, maintaining fusion-fission balance, and preventing mitochondrial Ca2+ overload. In parallel, Cx43 enables mitochondrial transfer from donor HSPCs to stromal niche cells, restoring stromal metabolic competence and promoting effective niche repair and engraftment. Dysregulation of connexin networks contributes to marrow failure, clonal evolution, leukemic niche remodeling, and chemoresistance, highlighting their context-dependent roles in health and disease. This review synthesizes advances in connexin biology in hematopoiesis, reframes connexins as integrators of metabolic and regenerative signaling rather than passive conduits, and defines emerging translational opportunities. Isoform- and compartment-specific targeting of connexin pathways offers a therapeutic strategy to enhance hematopoietic recovery, preserve long-term stem cell function, and disrupt pathological niche support in hematologic malignancies.

Indexed as

Bone Marrow CellsConnexinsHematopoietic Stem CellsAnimalsHematopoiesisHumansMitochondriaSignal TransductionConnexins

Identifiers

PMID42095943
PMCPMC13329273

What Socratic holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.