Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Single-cell Microinjection for Cell Communication Analysis
Published on: February 26, 2017
Gap junctions and connexin expression in the normal and pathological central nervous system
1INSERM U114, Collège de France, 11, place Marcelin Berthelot 75005, Paris, France.
Abstract:
Gap junctions are widely expressed in the various cell types of the central nervous system. These specialized membrane intercellular junctions provide the morphological support for direct electrical and biochemical communication between adjacent cells. This intercellular coupling is controlled by neurotransmitters and other endogenous compounds produced and released in basal as well as in pathological situations. Changes in the expression and the function of connexins are associated with number of brain pathologies and lesions suggesting that they could contribute to the expansion of brain damages. The purpose of this review is to summarize data presently available concerning gap junctions and the expression and function of connexins in different cell types of the central nervous system and to present their physiopathological relevance in three major brain dysfunctions: inflammation, epilepsy and ischemia.
Related Concept Videos
Contact-dependent Signaling
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...
Gap Junctions
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
Overview of Cell-Cell Junctions
Occluding or Tight Junctions
Tight...
Gap Junctions
Overview of Synapses

