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Updated: Oct 4, 2025

Mechanical Stimulation-induced Calcium Wave Propagation in Cell Monolayers: The Example of Bovine Corneal Endothelial Cells
Published on: July 16, 2013
Intrapore lipids hydrophobically gate pannexin-1 channels
Connor L Anderson1, Roger J Thompson1
1Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
Abstract:
Large-pore channels such as pannexin-1 (PANX1) typically lack pore-lining constriction points, leaving only speculations on how these channels functionally "close." In this issue of Science Signaling, Kuzuya et al. found that rearrangements in the PANX1 amino-terminal helix mediate channel gating by a surprising mechanism in which lipids block the ion conduction pathway, creating a hydrophobic gate.
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