Gap junctions: the “kiss of death” and the “kiss of life”

AF Andrade-Rozental, R Rozental, MG Hopperstad… - Brain research …, 2000 - Elsevier
Cells expressing herpes simplex-thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) can be killed “in vitro” within 5
days of treatment with 20 μM ganciclovir (GCV) and transmit this toxicity to adjacent cells
lacking HSV-tk; this phenomenon was termed “bystander effect” or “kiss of death”. On testing
a large number of cell lines in vitro, a wide range of sensitivity to GCV-mediated bystander
killing has been reported. Although intercellular transfer of GCV metabolites through gap
junction channels seems to be a likely mechanism for the “kiss of death”, some studies …