Connexin 32

Intracellular communication mediated by gap junctions plays an important role in a variety of cellular processes including: homeostasis, morphogenesis, cell differentiation, and growth control. Gap junctions are transmembrane channels that serve to directly link neighboring cells by mediating the exchange of low-molecular weight metabolites, ions, and second messengers. Gap junctions are formed by the interaction of connexons or hemichannels on adjacent cells. The connexon itself is composed of a hexameric assembly of proteins referred to as connexins. Connexins are highly homologous proteins encoded by a multigene family. The connexins exhibit similar structural features, which include a cytoplasmic amino terminal region, four transmembrane domains, two extracellular loops, and a carboxy-terminal cytoplasmic tail of varying length. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of the various connexin family members indicate that the two areas of greatest divergence amongst the connexin family members are the intracellular loop connecting the second and third transmembrane segments and the carboxy-terminal tail (1, 3, 6) . These domains are, therefore, thought to mediate connexin-type speci?c properties including: phosphorylation, responses to gating stimuli, as well as assembly and membrane turnover. Modulation of gap junctional communication can be achieved by multiple mechanisms and can occur very rapidly or over a period of several hours. These mechanisms include alterations in transcription, translation, stability, postranslational processing (especially phosphorylation), gating, and insertion or removal from the plasma membrane. Interestingly, reduction or alterations in the levels or types of connexin expressed in a given cell type has been found to correlate with tumor progression and metastasis (5).\n\nApplications: \nSuitable for use in Immunofluorescence, ELISA, Western Blot and Immunohistochemistry. Other applications not tested.\n\nRecommended Dilution:\nELISA: 0.1

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