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Gap junctions were first described as close appositions as other tight junctions, but following electron microscopy studies in 1967, they were renamed gap junctions to distinguish them from tight junctions. [2] They bridge a 2-4 nm gap between cell membranes. [3] Gap junctions use protein complexes known as connexons to
Each gap junction (sometimes called a nexus) contains numerous gap junction channels that cross the plasma membranes of both cells. [11] With a lumen diameter of about 1.2 to 2.0 nm, [2] [12] the pore of a gap junction channel is wide enough to allow ions and even medium-size molecules like signaling molecules to flow from one cell to the next, [2] [13] thereby connecting the two cells' cytoplasm.
Gap junctions play vital roles in the human body, [11] including their role in the uniform contractile of the heart muscle. [11] They are also relevant in signal transfers in the brain, and their absence shows a decreased cell density in the brain. [12] Retinal and skin cells are also dependent on gap junctions in cell differentiation and ...
the diagram i made myself using the information on this websites as source: , , , and. Made with Adobe Illustrator. Image renamed from File:Gap cell junction.svg: Author: Mariana Ruiz LadyofHats: Other versions
An electrical synapse is an electrically conductive link between two abutting neurons that is formed at a narrow gap between the pre- and postsynaptic cells, known as a gap junction. At gap junctions, cells approach within about 3.5 nm of each other, rather than the 20 to 40 nm distance that separates cells at chemical synapses.
Gap junctions are the main site of cell-cell signaling or communication that allow small molecules to diffuse between adjacent cells. In vertebrates, gap junctions are composed of transmembrane proteins called connexins. They form hexagonal pores or channels through which ions, sugars, and other small molecules can pass.
Gap junctions are made of connexins in vertebrates and innexins in invertebrates. Electrical synapses are electrically conductive gap junctions between neurons . Gap junctions are critical for cardiac myocytes ; mice and humans deficient in a particular gap junction protein have severe heart development defects.
Band diagrams for a straddling-gap type heterojunction, as understood by Anderson's rule. The junction alignment at equilibrium (bottom) is predicted based on a hypothetical flat-vacuum alignment (top). Anderson's rule is used for the construction of energy band diagrams of the heterojunction between two semiconductor materials.