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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...
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Actin filaments undergo polymerization and depolymerization from either end. The polymerization and depolymerization rates depend on the cytosolic concentration of free G-actins. The polymerization rate is generally higher at the plus or barbed end, while the depolymerization rate is higher at the minus or pointed end. At a steady state, critical concentration describes the concentration of free G-actin monomers at which the polymerization rate at the plus end is equal to that of the...
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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. 
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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...
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The adherens junctions that anchor cells together are multi-protein complexes that dynamically adapt to mechanical stimuli such as tensile forces and shear stress. Mechanosensory proteins in these junctions can sense such mechanical stimuli and undergo a shift in their conformation, resulting in an altered function — a process called mechanotransduction.
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Understanding Cerebellar Pattern Formation
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Gap junctions in Turing-type periodic feather pattern formation.

Chun-Chih Tseng1, Thomas E Woolley2, Ting-Xin Jiang3

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.

Plos Biology
|May 14, 2024
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Gap junctions (GJs) are crucial for feather pattern formation. Inhibiting GJs stimulates periodic feather patterning, suggesting GJs propagate inhibitory signals in chick skin development.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Computational Biology

Background:

  • Periodic patterning in tissues relies on cell-cell communication.
  • Turing's model explains pattern formation via activator-inhibitor systems.
  • The role of non-protein signals like those mediated by gap junctions is emerging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the role of gap junctions (GJs) in Turing-type patterning.
  • Utilize feather pattern formation in chick skin as a model system.
  • Explore how GJ intercellular communication (GJIC) influences pattern emergence.

Main Methods:

  • Examined dynamic expression of GJ isoforms in developing chicken skin.
  • Perturbed connexin 30 GJ isoform function in ovo using siRNA and dominant-negative mutants.
  • Inhibited GJIC in ex vivo skin explant cultures.
  • Developed Turing-based computational simulations.

Main Results:

  • Seven of 12 GJ isoforms showed dynamic expression in developing chicken skin.
  • Inhibition of connexin 30 disrupted primary feather bud formation.
  • Inhibition of GJIC in explants led to sequential emergence of new feather buds.
  • Computational models predicted ectopic bud formation based on modulated intercellular communication.

Conclusions:

  • GJIC likely propagates long-distance inhibitory signals essential for feather patterning.
  • Inhibition of GJs can stimulate Turing-type periodic feather pattern formation.
  • Modulating GJ activity influences pattern generation in morphogenetic fields.