Gap junctions: historical discoveries and new findings in the C aenorhabditis elegans nervous system

Gap junctions are evolutionarily conserved structures at close membrane contacts between two cells. In the nervous system, they mediate rapid, often bi-directional, transmission of signals through channels called innexins in invertebrates and connexins in vertebrates. Connectomic studies from have u...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology open 2020-09, Vol.9 (8)
Main Authors: Jin, Eugene Jennifer, Park, Seungmee, Lyu, Xiaohui, Jin, Yishi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans - metabolism
Caenorhabditis elegans - ultrastructure
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism
Gap Junctions - metabolism
Gap Junctions - ultrastructure
Ion Channel Gating
Nervous System - metabolism
Stress, Physiological
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Gap junctions are evolutionarily conserved structures at close membrane contacts between two cells. In the nervous system, they mediate rapid, often bi-directional, transmission of signals through channels called innexins in invertebrates and connexins in vertebrates. Connectomic studies from have uncovered a vast number of gap junctions present in the nervous system and non-neuronal tissues. The genome also has 25 innexin genes that are expressed in spatial and temporal dynamic pattern. Recent findings have begun to reveal novel roles of innexins in the regulation of multiple processes during formation and function of neural circuits both in normal conditions and under stress. Here, we highlight the diverse roles of gap junctions and innexins in the nervous system. These findings contribute to fundamental understanding of gap junctions in all animals.
ISSN:2046-6390
2046-6390
DOI:10.1242/bio.053983