HeLa cells junctions

Bukauskas FF, Elfgang C, Willecke K, Weingart R Biophysical properties of gap junction channels formed by mouse connexin40 in induced pairs of transfected human HeLa cells. Biophys J 1995 68 2289-2298. 

Cx43-formed gap junctions exhibit three conductance states one of 20-30 pS, one of40-60 pS and one of70-100 pS.1,19,20 The conductance of Cx43-formed hemichannels ranges from 31 to 352 pS.21 More recently, the conductance of fully open hemichannels in HeLa-cells was found to be 220 pS however, also a sub-state of approximately 75 pS exists between the fully open and the closed state,22 suggesting that hemichannel conductance can be regulated as well. 

The two-color pulse chase was developed to examine the turnover of gap junctions in HeLa cells [11]. Gap junctions are channels that connect adjacent cells and are permeable to small molecules and ions. They are composed of connexins, a family of transmembrane proteins with molecular weights ranging from 25 to 50 kDa. A functional channel is composed of 12 connexin subunits with each adjacent cell contributing a hexameric hemichannel. 

Fig. 8.1-3 Specificity of FIAsH staining in (a) FIAsH fluorescence, (b) staining with a HeLa cells expressing Cx43-tetracysteine. A Cx43-specific antibody, (c) overlay of these gap junction plaque between two channels combined with a propidium iodide...

Fig. 8.1-5 Correlated fluorescence and electron microscopy of ReAsH-labeled connexin43-tetracysteine in HeLa cells, (a) Fluorescence confocal image of a gap junction plaque after FlAsH (green) and...

V. Valiunas, D. Manthey, R. Vogel, K. Willecke, R. Weingart, Biophysical properties of mouse connexinSO gap junction channels studied in transfected human HeLa cells, J Physiol 519 Pt 3 (1999) 631-644. 

T.C. Clarke, D. Thomas, J.S. Petersen, W.H. Evans, P.E. Martin, The antiarrhythmic peptide rotigaptide (ZP123) increases gap junction intercellular communication in cardiac myocytes and HeLa cells expressing connexin 43, Br J Pharmacol 147 (2006) 486-495. 

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