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1 Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York, Stony Brook, 11794-8661; 2 Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461; 3 Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60612; 4 Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy; and 5 Department of Neuroscience, Institut Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France
We have identified a novel gap junction
gene by searching the human genome sequence database that encodes a
protein designated as connexin31.9 (Cx31.9). Cx31.9 was most homologous
to human Cx32.4 and did not cluster with either the purported
- or
-connexin subfamilies. Expression of Cx31.9 was detected by RT-PCR
in human mRNA from several tissues including cerebral cortex, heart,
liver, lung, kidney, spleen, and testis. A partial Cx31.9 sequence was also represented in the human Expressed Sequence Tag database. Cx31.9
formed intercellular channels in both paired Xenopus oocytes and transfected neuroblastoma N2A cells that were distinguished by an
apparent low unitary conductance (12-15 pS) and a remarkable insensitivity to transjunctional voltage. In contrast, Cx31.9 channels
were gated by cytoplasmic acidification or exposure to halothane like
other connexins. Cx31.9 was able to form heterotypic channels with the
highly voltage-sensitive Xenopus Cx38 (XenCx38), which
provides an opportunity to study gating in heterotypic channels formed
by hemichannels (connexons) composed of connexins with widely divergent
properties. Thus Cx31.9 is a novel human connexin that forms channels
with unique functional properties.
gene family; expression; channel; gap junction
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