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Contact-dependent Signaling

Contact-dependent Signaling

Contact-dependent signaling, as the name suggests, requires that communicating cells be in direct contact with each other. This is achieved either through receptor-ligand interactions or by specialized cytoplasmic channels that allow the flow of small molecules between cells. In animal cells, channels called gap junctions facilitate contact-dependent signaling in certain tissues, whereas, plasmodesmata perform a similar function in plants.
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...

Gap Junctions

Gap Junctions

Multicellular organisms employ a variety of ways for cells to communicate with each other. Gap junctions are specialized proteins that form pores between neighboring cells in animals, connecting the cytoplasm between the two, and allowing for the exchange of molecules and ions. They are found in a wide range of invertebrate and vertebrate species, mediate numerous functions including cell differentiation and development, and are associated with numerous human diseases, including cardiac and...

Overview of Cell-Matrix Interactions

Overview of Cell-Matrix Interactions

The extracellular matrix or ECM holds cells together to form a tissue and allows the cells within the tissue to communicate. ECM comprises proteins such as fibronectin, collagen, laminin, etc. The most abundant protein in this space is collagen. Collagen fibers are interwoven with carbohydrate-containing protein molecules called proteoglycans. ECM allows cell migration and provides a structural scaffold at cell adhesion that anchors the cell when the extracellular matrix proteins interact with...

Cell-matrix's Response to Mechanical Forces

Cell-matrix's Response to Mechanical Forces

In animal cells, the extracellular matrix allows cells within tissues to withstand external stresses and transmits signals from the outside of the cell to the inside. The extracellular matrix is extensive, and its composition varies between different types of tissues. For example, the reticular fibers and ground substance make up the ECM in loose connective tissue, while collagen and bone minerals make up the ECM of bone tissue.
Anchoring junctions mechanically attach a cell to the...

Overview of Cell-Cell Junctions

Overview of Cell-Cell Junctions

The complex three-dimensional arrangement of cells in any multicellular organism is defined and maintained by interactions of cells with each other and the extracellular matrix. Cell-cell junctions are specialized structures where the multi-protein complexes on one cell interact with the multi-protein complexes on another cell. These cell junctions are classified into three main types based on their function — occluding, anchoring, and gap junctions.
Occluding or Tight Junctions
Tight...

Gap Junctions

Gap Junctions

The cytoplasm of adjacent animal cells can exchange small molecules, ions, and secondary messengers via the communication channels which form the gap junctions. These junctions comprise a few hundred to thousands of molecular channels, each made of two halves, called the connexon hemichannel. A connexon is a hexamer of six transmembrane connexin proteins, which assemble radially, thus forming a pore or channel in the center. One connexon hemichannel docks with a corresponding connexon on the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Establishment of a Clinically Relevant Ex Vivo Mock Cataract Surgery Model for Investigating Epithelial Wound Repair in a Native Microenvironment

Establishment of a Clinically Relevant Ex Vivo Mock Cataract Surgery Model for Investigating Epithelial Wound Repair in a Native Microenvironment

Published on: June 5, 2015

Defining a link between gap junction communication, proteolysis, and cataract formation.

A Baruch¹, D Greenbaum, E T Levy

¹Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, USA.

The Journal of Biological Chemistry

|June 8, 2001

Summary

Disruption of connexin alpha 3 (Cx46) gene causes cataracts by increasing calcium and activating Lp82 protease. Inhibiting this protease prevents cataract formation, highlighting Cx46

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Area of Science:

Ophthalmology
Molecular Biology
Genetics

Background:

Connexin alpha 3 (Cx46) gene disruption in mice leads to nuclear cataracts.
Cataracts are linked to gamma-crystallin proteolytic processing, aggregation, and lens opacification.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying Cx46-deficiency-induced cataracts.
To identify the specific proteases involved in gamma-crystallin cleavage and cataract formation.

Main Methods:

Utilized alpha 3 (-/-) mice model for cataract studies.
Employed cysteine protease inhibitor E-64 to assess its effect on cataractogenesis.
Applied activity-based cysteine protease affinity probes to identify protease targets.

Main Results:

E-64 treatment inhibited both cataract formation and gamma-crystallin cleavage in alpha 3 (-/-) lenses.
Identified m-calpain and Lp82 as primary E-64 targets in the lens.
Lp82 activity significantly increased in alpha 3 (-/-) lenses, correlating with cataract development.

Conclusions:

Alpha 3 gap junctions are crucial for maintaining lens calcium homeostasis.
Dysregulated calcium homeostasis activates the cysteine protease Lp82, initiating cataractogenesis.
Lp82 is identified as a key protease in the development of cataracts.