Kachar B, Reese T S
Anat Rec. 1985 Sep;213(1):7-15. doi: 10.1002/ar.1092130103.
Intercellular junctions, identified in freeze-fracture by narrowing of the intercellular gap and codistribution of P-face membrane particles, proliferate during incubation of excised rat prostate tissue in 30% glycerol solution. These junctions fulfill the criteria used to identify gap junctions in freeze-fracture replicas with respect to the size and uniformity of their component particles, the codistribution of the particle aggregates on P-faces of adjacent membranes, and the narrowing of the extracellular cleft at the junction. These gap-junction-like structures form on the lateral surfaces of epithelial cells, where they are normally scarce, within minutes after exposure to glycerol. Glycerol-induced junction formation is not blocked by DNP, a metabolic uncoupler, or by cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor. Newly formed junctions occur initially in clusters and the number per cluster decreases as individual junctions become larger with longer periods of incubation, suggesting that the clusters coalesce. The structural changes that precede and accompany the formation of these junctions at early times of incubation are comparable to the changes reported to precede the formation of gap junctions accompanying hormonal treatment, development, and other means of natural induction.
通过细胞间隙变窄和P面膜颗粒的共分布在冷冻断裂中鉴定出的细胞间连接，在切除的大鼠前列腺组织于30%甘油溶液中孵育期间会增殖。就其组成颗粒的大小和均匀性、颗粒聚集体在相邻膜P面上的共分布以及连接处细胞外间隙变窄而言，这些连接符合用于在冷冻断裂复制品中鉴定间隙连接的标准。这些类间隙连接结构在暴露于甘油后几分钟内，在上皮细胞通常稀少的侧面形成。甘油诱导的连接形成不受代谢解偶联剂DNP或蛋白质合成抑制剂环己酰亚胺的阻断。新形成的连接最初成簇出现，随着孵育时间延长，单个连接变大，每个簇中的连接数量减少，这表明这些簇会合并。在孵育早期这些连接形成之前和伴随形成过程中的结构变化，与报道的在激素处理、发育及其他自然诱导方式伴随的间隙连接形成之前的变化相当。
