The different types of cells in the lung, from the conducting airway epithelium 
to the alveolar epithelium and the pulmonary vasculature, are interconnected by 
gap junctions. The specific profile of gap junction proteins, the connexins, 
expressed in these different cell types forms compartments of intercellular 
communication that can be further shaped by the release of extracellular 
nucleotides via pannexin1 channels. In this review, we focus on the physiology 
of connexins and pannexins and describe how this lung communication network 
modulates lung function and host defenses in conductive and respiratory airways.