To investigate the relationship between the expression of connexin in basaloid squamous cell carcinomas (BSCC) and their rapid proliferation and invasive potential, we examined the effect of overexpression of connexin 43 (Cx43) in a BSCC-derived cell line (BSC-OF). BSC-OF was transfected with Cx43 to obtain 15 clones with a stable expression of Cx43. In these cells, although Cx43 was distributed throughout the cytoplasm, it did not form connexon plaque. In almost all of the clones, cell proliferation was clearly suppressed. Furthermore, we investigated cell migration and invasion in three clones that showed a remarkable down-regulation in cell growth, and found that Cx43 transfection showed no significant effect on either. These results suggest that Cx43 plays a role as a tumor suppressor in the cytoplasm of Cx43-transfected BSC-OF cells. However, no definite correlation was found between Cx43 and cell migration and invasion.

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