Diameter of the inner ear gap junction channel lumen

Range 1 - 1.5 nm
Organism Unspecified
Reference Zhao HB, Kikuchi T, Ngezahayo A, White TW. Gap junctions and cochlear homeostasis. J Membr Biol. 2006 Feb-Mar209(2-3):177-86DOI: 10.1007/s00232-005-0832-x p.181 left column 2nd paragraphPubMed ID16773501
Primary Source Harris AL. Emerging issues of connexin channels: biophysics fills the gap. Q Rev Biophys. 2001 Aug34(3):325-472 AND Goldberg GS, Valiunas V, Brink PR. Selective permeability of gap junction channels. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2004 Mar 23 1662(1-2):96-101 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2003.11.022 AND Valiunas V et al., Connexin-specific cell-to-cell transfer of short interfering RNA by gap junctions. J Physiol. 2005 Oct 15 568(Pt 2):459-68 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2005.090985PubMed ID11838236, 15033581, 16037090
Method Primary source Valiunas et al. abstract: "The purpose of this study was to determine whether oligonucleotides the size of siRNA are permeable to gap junctions and whether a specific siRNA for DNA polymerase beta (pol beta) can move from one cell to another via gap junctions, thus allowing one cell to inhibit gene expression in another cell directly. To test this hypothesis, fluorescently labelled oligonucleotides (morpholinos) 12, 16 and 24 nucleotides in length were synthesized and introduced into one cell of a pair using a patch pipette...The levels of pol beta mRNA and protein were determined by semiquantitative RT-PCR and immunoblotting."
Comments P.181 left column 2nd paragraph: "The diameter of the gap junction channel lumen is 1 to 1.5 nm for all connexins that have been structurally studied, consistent with the observed upper size limit for the minor diameter of molecules that can traverse the channel (primary sources). "
Entered by Uri M
ID 117144