Biology of Gap Junctions
| Autor: | William J. Larsen, E. Michael Hendrix |
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| Rok vydání: | 1995 |
| Předmět: | |
| DOI: | 10.1016/b978-0-12-656970-4.50030-0 |
| Popis: | Publisher Summary This chapter discusses that the structure serving as an electrical synapse in excitable tissues and as permeable cell-to-cell ion channels in unexcitable cells is the gap junction. It also explains the function of these structures as electrical synapses in neurons and in cardiac and smooth muscle. Fortunately, DNAs encoding several gap junction proteins are cloned, and it is now possible to correlate sequence data with biological activities typically attributed to gap junctions composed of different connexins or of mixtures of different connexins. This new molecular information has provided a basis for studies that will provide an understanding to the specific functional significance of these widespread but enigmatic structures. The chapter also describes that gap junctions are widely distributed throughout all tissues in nearly all organisms of the animal kingdom. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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