Gap junctions and the connexin protein family

Gap junctions (Gj) form conduits between adjacent cells that are composed of connexin (Cx) protein subunits and allow direct intercellular communication. To date, the connexin gene family comprises 20 members in the mouse and 21 members in the human genome, 19 of which can be grouped as sequence-orthologous pairs. The structure of connexin genes is relatively simple. An untranslated exon 1 is separated by an intron of different length from exon 2, containing the uninterrupted coding region and the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR). However, in some connexin genes, the untranslated regions and the reading frame are spliced. Among the known "cardiovascular" connexins, Cx37 and Cx40 were demonstrated to be…

• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• FT
  Fritz Thyssen Stiftung