Chemical and Voltage Gating of Gap Junction Channels Expressed in Xenopus Oocytes
| Autor: | Camillo Peracchia |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Calmodulin biology Chemistry Polarity in embryogenesis Voltage clamp Gap junction Xenopus Gating biology.organism_classification 03 medical and health sciences Cytosol Microelectrode 030104 developmental biology 0302 clinical medicine 030220 oncology & carcinogenesis biology.protein Biophysics |
| Zdroj: | Methods in Molecular Biology ISBN: 9781071615690 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/7651_2020_291 |
| Popis: | In most tissues, cells in contact with each other directly intercommunicate via cell-to-cell channels aggregated at gap junctions. Direct cell-to-cell communication provides a fundamental mechanism for coordinating many cellular functions in mature and developing organs, as it enables free exchange of small cytosolic molecules. Gap junction channels are regulated by a chemical gating mechanism sensitive to cytosolic calcium concentration [Ca2+]i in the nanomolar range mediated by Ca2+-activated calmodulin (CaM). Evidence for the relevance of chemical regulation of gap junctional communication to cell function in health and disease prompted the development of methodologies aimed at quantitatively monitoring channel gating. A widely used method is the double voltage clamp of Xenopus laevis oocytes. Basically, this method involves pairing at the vegetal pole devitellinized oocytes in a conical well of a culture dish, inserting in each of them a current and a voltage microelectrode, establishing double voltage clamp and measuring junctional conductance (Gj) from voltage and current records. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|