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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology
The Amino Terminal Domains Of Sheep Cx46 Or Cx50 Determine Their Gap Junction Channel Open Stability And Unitary Channel Conductance, Benny Yue
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Connexins form intercellular communication channels known as gap junctions (GJs), which are found throughout the vertebrate species. GJs formed by different connexins harbor unique channel properties that have not been fully defined. High-resolution structures of native Cx46 and Cx50 GJs from sheep (sCx46 and sCx50) were recently resolved. Molecular dynamics studies identified the NT domains, especially the 9th position, as key determinants in the differences of energetic barrier to K+ permeation in sCx46 and sCx50 GJs. We studied functional properties of GJs formed by sCx46, sCx50, NT domain swapped chimeras (sCx46-50NT and sCx50-46NT), and point variants at the …
Pore-Lining Residues And Intracellular Magnesium Concentration Influence Connexin50 Gap Junction Unitary Channel Conductance, Mary Grace M. Tejada
Pore-Lining Residues And Intracellular Magnesium Concentration Influence Connexin50 Gap Junction Unitary Channel Conductance, Mary Grace M. Tejada
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Gap junction (GJ) channels mediate direct intercellular communication. Each GJ channel consists of two hemichannels and each hemichannel is a hexamer of connexins. GJs formed by different connexins display different unitary channel conductance (γj) and intracellular magnesium modulation. The underlying mechanisms are not fully clear. The present study investigates the effect of mutating putative pore-lining residues (G8, G46, and V53 individually or together) into glutamate in Cx50 on homotypic GJ channel properties. Expression of the triple and individual mutants in GJ-deficient N2A cells resulted in the formation of functional GJ channels similar to that of Cx50 GJs. However, …