Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada.
Trends Cell Biol. 2010 Feb;20(2):92-101. doi: 10.1016/j.tcb.2009.11.001. Epub 2009 Nov 26.
In recent years our understanding of connexins has advanced from viewing them simply as proteins with a surprisingly short lifespan that form gap junction channels. Connexins are now known to be multifaceted proteins at the core of many multiprotein complexes that link to structural junctional complexes and cytoskeletal elements, and also to the cellular machinery that facilitates their transport, assembly, function and internalization. Collectively, these connexin-binding proteins can be termed the 'gap junction proteome'. The mechanistic understanding of the gap junction proteome with regards to the dynamic life cycle of connexins has grown further in importance in light of the large number of human diseases attributed to connexin gene mutations and regulatory changes in connexin spatial localization and expression levels.
近年来，我们对连接蛋白的认识已经从简单地将其视为具有惊人短寿命的蛋白质，这些蛋白质形成间隙连接通道，发展到现在认为连接蛋白是多功能蛋白质，它们是许多多蛋白复合物的核心，这些复合物与结构连接复合物和细胞骨架元素相连，也与促进它们运输、组装、功能和内化的细胞机制相连。这些连接蛋白结合蛋白统称为“间隙连接蛋白质组”。鉴于大量的人类疾病归因于连接蛋白基因突变以及连接蛋白空间定位和表达水平的调节变化，关于连接蛋白蛋白质组的动态生命周期的机制理解变得更加重要。
