ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2026
Structure-based virtual screening for selective connexin hemichannel blockers: a historical perspective on the discovery of a small organic inhibitor.
Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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1 citing paper in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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Abstract
Introduction: Connexin hemichannels are critical mediators of cellular signaling in both physiological and pathological states, yet their selective pharmacological modulation has remained elusive because of the close structural similarity between hemichannels and gap junction channels formed by the same connexins. Methods: We combined structure-based virtual screening of a connexin hemichannel model with experimental validation - ethidium/DAPI dye-uptake assays, single-channel and whole-cell electrophysiology, and Lucifer yellow gap-junctional coupling assays - to identify and characterise D4, a small chiral organic molecule, and we synthesised and tested both of its enantiomers. Results: D4(R) potently and selectively blocks C×43 hemichannels at nanomolar concentrations (IC Discussion: These findings establish D4(R) as a first-in-class, gap-junction-sparing hemichannel blocker and provide a validated molecular scaffold for next-generation connexin therapeutics, addressing a long-standing challenge in connexin pharmacology and opening new avenues for dissecting hemichannel function under physiological and pathophysiological conditions.
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