connexins & pannexins

February 26, 2005 at 7:48 pm #431

Participant

hi there i have been given this title to do a powerpoint presentation on!!!

The molecular substrate for electrical synapses in mammalian central nervous system:connexins, pannexins or both?

i am really strugglin with understanding the topic and finding some information to break it down in simpler terms for me!??

can anyone help me at all, as it has to be done by thurs 3rd

February 26, 2005 at 10:27 pm #19895

canalon

Participant

If you are ready for something really complete, but probably tough, try this (it’s free):

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/100/23/13644

Otherwise Entrez http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
has a lot of information (try to search the books database (though I haven’t found anything on pannexins) and is always a good starting point.

HTH

Patrick

February 26, 2005 at 10:48 pm #19896

theyellowmonster

Participant

hi patrick thanks for that, the pnas link was the reference i already had!! do u know anythin personally about it!!?!?

February 27, 2005 at 12:03 am #19901

canalon

Participant

Sorry, I can’t help. In PubMed I found only 6 references to pannexins, and none in the books. If you can acces to the review by Connors & Long, a cursosry reading of the abstract seem to show that it could probably be answering somme of your questions.

And I am a microbiologist, and not particularly knowledgeable about cell structures.

Good luck

Patrick

February 27, 2005 at 1:25 am #19906

theyellowmonster

Participant

which is the connors and long reference sorry??

thanks for your help

February 27, 2005 at 2:29 am #19908

canalon

Participant

quote theyellowmonster:

which is the connors and long reference sorry??

thanks for your help

ooops sorry

One of the 6 references found in PubMed on pannexins. But you need access to Annual reviews in Neuroscience to go beyond the abstract. I don’t.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15217338

HTH

Patrick

October 20, 2012 at 11:54 am #112748

brad000123

Participant

In this review, we briefly summarize what is known about the properties of the three families of gap junction proteins, connexins, innexins and pannexins, emphasizing their importance as intercellular channels that provide ionic and metabolic coupling and as non-junctional channels that can function as a paracrine signaling pathway. We discuss that two distinct groups of proteins form gap junctions in deuterostomes (connexins) and protostomes (innexins), and that channels formed of the deuterostome homologues of innexins (pannexins) differ from connexin channels in terms of important structural features and activation properties. These differences indicate that the two families of gap junction proteins serve distinct, complementary functions in deuterostomes. In several tissues, including the CNS, both connexins and pannexins are involved in intercellular communication, but have different roles. Connexins mainly contribute by forming the intercellular gap junction channels, which provide for junctional coupling and define the communication compartments in the CNS. We also provide new data supporting the concept that pannexins form the non-junctional channels that play paracrine roles by releasing ATP and, thus, modulating the range of the intercellular Ca2+-wave transmission between astrocytes in culture.

Members