Epithelial, fibroblast and intermediate cell lines were employed to examine the mechanism(s) essential for heterocellular gap junction intercellular communication in vitro. These cell lines were characterized extensively for cell type based on morphology, intermediate cytoskeletal proteins, cell adhesion molecules and their associated proteins, tight junction proteins as well as functional diff...

Pannexins are a newly described family of proteins that may form gap junctions. We made antisera against mouse pannexin1 (Panx1). HeLa cells expressing Panx1 have cell surface labeling, but not gap junction plaques, and do not transfer small fluorescent dyes or neurobiotin in a scrape-loading assay. Neuro2a cells expressing Panx1 are not electrophysiologically coupled. Intracellular Panx1-immun...

Gap junctions between crayfish lateral axons were studied by combining anatomical and electrophysiological measurements to determine structural changes associated during uncoupling by axoplasmic acidification. In basal conditions, the junctional resistance, Rj, was approximately 60-80 k omega and the synapses appeared as two adhering membranes; 18-20-nm overall thickness, containing transverse ...

Gap junctions (GJs) provide cell-to-cell communication of essential metabolites and ions. GJs allow tissues to average responses, clear waste products, and minimize the effects of xenobiotics by dilution and allowing steady-state catabolism. Many chemicals can adversely affect the membrane GJ assembly causing reversible alterations in GJ intercellular communication. During toxicity essential me...

We examined the dynamics of connexins, E-cadherin and α-catenin during gap-junction disassembly and assembly in regenerating hepatocytes by immunofluorescence microscopy, and immunogold-electron microscopy using SDS-digested freeze-fracture replicas. The present findings suggest that during the disappearance of gap junctions most of the gap junction plaques are broken up into smaller aggregates...

The gap junction is a specialized contact between adjacent cells in a wide variety of tissues (1, 2) which is thought to mediate electrotonic coupling (3) . This junction is characterized by a hexagonal lattice of subunits which may be seen in lanthanum-impregnated, negative-stained, and freezefractured preparations (1) . A method for isolation of morphologically intact gap junctions from mouse...

Gap junctions are cell-to-cell junctions that are located in the basolateral surface of two adjoining cells. A gap junction channel is composed of a family of proteins called connexins. Gap junction channels maintain intercellular communication between two cells through the exchange of ions, small metabolites, and electrical signals. Gap junction channels or connexins are widespread in terms of...

Changes in the total amount of the gap junction protein (M(r) 26,000) after partial hepatectomy or bile duct ligation and recanalization were investigated in rat liver membranes by quantitative immunoblot with rabbit antiserum to the M(r) 26,000 protein. The loss and reappearance of the M(r) 26,000 protein roughly paralleled loss and reappearance of gap junction plaques analyzed previously unde...