Duffy Heather S, Delmar Mario, Spray David C
Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1410 Pelham Pkwy S, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
J Physiol Paris. 2002 Apr-Jun;96(3-4):243-9. doi: 10.1016/s0928-4257(02)00012-8.
Gap junctions are the morphological correlates of direct cell-cell communication and are formed of hexameric assemblies of gap junction proteins (connexins) into hemichannels (or connexons) provided by each coupled cell. Gap junction channels formed by each of the connexin subtypes (of which there are as many as 20) display different properties, which have been attributed to differences in amino acid sequences of gating domains of the connexins. Recent studies additionally indicate that connexin proteins interact with other cellular components to form a protein complex termed the Nexus. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding the protein-protein interactions involving of connexin proteins and proposes hypothesized functions for these interactions.
间隙连接是细胞间直接通讯的形态学关联物，由间隙连接蛋白（连接蛋白）的六聚体组装形成半通道（或连接子），每个耦联细胞都提供半通道。由每种连接蛋白亚型（多达20种）形成的间隙连接通道具有不同的特性，这归因于连接蛋白门控域氨基酸序列的差异。最近的研究还表明，连接蛋白与其他细胞成分相互作用形成一种称为连接体的蛋白质复合物。本综述总结了目前关于连接蛋白蛋白质相互作用的知识，并提出了这些相互作用的假定功能。
