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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
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 ...
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.
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.
When the membranes of two animal cells are close, they may form special types of cell junctions, which come in three broad types: occluding junctions (such as tight junctions and septate junctions), anchoring junctions (such as adherens junctions, desmosomes, focal adhesions, and hemidesmosomes), and communicating junctions (such as gap ...
Although classically known for their role in the prevention of paracellular transport, tight junction proteins also play crucial roles as signaling molecules. Occludin is able to interact with signaling pathways controlling cellular differentiation, and has been shown to travel to the nucleus of cells in which the tight junction has been disrupted.
Gap junctions are collections of intercellular channels that allow ions and other tiny molecules to move directly between cells. [1] [14] These junctions are made up of a number of gap junction channels that consist of two connexons, each with six protein subunits called connexin, and a gene family of nearly 20 members encodes the connexins found in mammals [14] [15]
Gap junctions play an important regulatory role in various physiological processes including signal propagation in cardiac muscles and tissue homeostasis of the liver. Modulation is required, since gap junctions must respond to their environment, whether through an increased expression or permeability.