GJD2 and ischemia: In the mammalian CNS, coupling of neurons by gap junctions and the expression of Cx36 rapidly increase (usually during 1–2 hours) following a wide range of neuronal injuries, including ischemia [4–6], traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury [7–9], retinal injury [10], epilepsy [11, 12] and inflammation [13].