Vertebrate gap junction channels are formed by a family of more than 20 connexin proteins. These gap junction proteins are expressed with overlapping cellular and tissue specificity, and coding region mutations can cause human hereditary diseases. Here we present a summary of what has been learned from voltage clamp studies performed on cell pairs either endogenously expressing gap junctions or in which connexins are exogenously expressed. General protocols presented here are currently used to transfect mammalian cells with connexins and to study the biophysical properties of the heterologously expressed connexin channels. Transient transfection is accomplished overnight with maximal expression occurring at about 36 h; stable transfectants normally can be generated within three or four weeks through colony selection. Electrophysiological protocols are presented for analysis of voltage dependence and single-channel conductance of gap junction channels as well as for studies of chemical gating of these channels.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2006.266 | DOI Listing |
J Physiol
January 2025
Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Saints-Pères Paris Institute for the Neurosciences, Paris, France.
Fañanas cells (FCs) are cerebellar glia of unknown function. First described more than a century ago, they have been almost absent from the scientific literature ever since. Here, we combined whole-cell, patch clamp recordings, near-UV laser photolysis, dye-loading and confocal imaging for a first characterization of FCs in terms of their morphology, electrophysiology and glutamate-evoked currents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Med Genomics
January 2025
Department of Surgery, Faculty of General of Medicine, Koya University, Koya, Kurdistan Region - F.R., KOY45, Iraq.
Background: During mammalian spermatogenesis, the cytoskeleton system plays a significant role in morphological changes. Male infertility such as non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) might be explained by studies of the cytoskeletal system during spermatogenesis.
Methods: The cytoskeleton, scaffold, and actin-binding genes were analyzed by microarray and bioinformatics (771 spermatogenic cellsgenes and 774 Sertoli cell genes).
Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol
January 2025
Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Medicine, 4209 St, OH-44, Rootstown, OH, 44272, USA; HEARS, LLC, 632 E. Market St, Ste B, Akron, OH, 44304, USA. Electronic address:
Objectives: Define the extent to which pathogenic GJB2 (gap junction beta-2) variants are responsible for non-syndromic hearing loss (NSHL) in the Asian population.
Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. CINAHL, Embase, and PubMed's MEDLINE were accessed from 1997 to 2023 using permutations of the MeSH terms: "Asian," ''Southeast Asian,'' "South Asian," "East Asian," "Southeastern Asian," and "GJB2.
Pharmaceutics
January 2025
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Mostar, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Background: This is a novel rat study using native peptide therapy, focused on reversing quadriceps muscle-to-bone detachment to reattachment and stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 per-oral therapy for shared muscle healing and function restoration.
Methods: Pharmacotherapy recovering various muscle, tendon, ligament, and bone lesions, and severed junctions (i.e.
Int J Mol Sci
January 2025
Department of Rare Diseases, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704 Poznan, Poland.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of unique transcripts characterized by a covalently closed loop structure, which differentiates them from conventional linear RNAs. The formation of circRNAs occurs co-transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally through a distinct type of splicing known as back-splicing, which involves the formation of a head-to-tail splice junction between a 5' splice donor and an upstream 3' splice acceptor. This process, along with exon skipping, intron retention, cryptic splice site utilization, and lariat-driven intron processing, results in the generation of three main types of circRNAs (exonic, intronic, and exonic-intronic) and their isoforms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!