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Mechanical Stimulation-induced Calcium Wave Propagation in Cell Monolayers: The Example of Bovine Corneal Endothelial Cells
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Mechanical Stimulation-induced Calcium Wave Propagation in Cell Monolayers: The Example of Bovine Corneal Endothelial Cells

Published on: July 16, 2013

Pannexins are new molecular candidates for assembling gap junctions in the cochlea

Wenxue Tang1, Shoeb Ahmad, Valery I Shestopalov

  • 1Department of Otolaryngology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Neuroreport
|August 13, 2008
PubMed

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Gap Junctions

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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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Contact-dependent Signaling

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Overview of Cell-Cell Junctions

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Non-gated Ion Channels

Ion channels are specialized proteins on the plasma membrane that allow charged ions to pass down their electrochemical gradient. Their main function is to maintain the membrane potential which is critical for cell viability. These channels are either gated or non-gated and can transport more than a thousand ions within milliseconds for the cellular event to occur.
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Non-gated Ion Channels01:24

Non-gated Ion Channels

Ion channels are specialized proteins on the plasma membrane that allow charged ions to pass down their electrochemical gradient. Their main function is to maintain the membrane potential which is critical for cell viability. These channels are either gated or non-gated and can transport more than a thousand ions within milliseconds for the cellular event to occur.
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