Structure of gap junctions in cultures of normal and neoplastic bladder epithelial cells

Normal rat urinary bladder epithelial cells contain small subunit (PF-1) and large subunit (PF-2) gap junctions, whereas carcinoma cells only contain PF-1 gap junctions. The absence of PF-2 gap junctions, which are composed of larger connections with slightly larger ionic channels, may contribute to altered metabolic coupling between urinary bladder carcinoma cells.