Electrical coupling between heart muscle cells is mediated by specialised regions of sarcolemmal interaction termed gap junctions. In previous work, we have demonstrated that connexin42, a recently identified gap-junctional protein, is present in the specialised conduction tissues of the avian heart. In the present study, the spatial distribution of the mammalian homologue of this protein, conn...

Skeletal myoblasts form grafts of mature muscle in injured hearts, and these grafts contract when exogenously stimulated. It is not known, however, whether cardiac muscle can form electromechanical junctions with skeletal muscle and induce its synchronous contraction. Here, we report that undifferentiated rat skeletal myoblasts expressed N-cadherin and connexin43, major adhesion and gap junctio...

Connexins proteins associate with a variety of catalytic and non-catalytic molecules. Also, different domains of connexin can bind to each other, providing a mechanism for channel regulation. Here, we review some of these associations, placing particular emphasis on the intramolecular interactions that regulate Connexin43 (Cx43). We also describe some novel methods that allow for the characteri...

Abstrad It has been proposed that the transfer of growth regulatory signals via gap jundions is important in the control of proliferation. In confluent 1 01#{189} cells, growth control is enhanced by retinoids; this adion is highly correlated with up-regulated gap jundional communication (GJC). Treatment of quiescent 1 0T#{189} cells with transforming growth fador (TGF) flu and TGF-fi2 resulted...