Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Projection structure of a gap junction membrane channel at 7 Å resolution

Electron cryo-microscopy and image analysis of frozen-hydrated, two-dimensional crystals of gap junction membrane channels formed by recombinant α1 connexin (Cx43) reveal a ring of transmembrane α-helices that lines the aqueous pore and a second ring of α-helices in close contact with the membrane lipids.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Kumar, N.M. & Gilula, N.B. Cell. 84, 381–388 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kanter, H.L., Laing, J.G., Beau, S.L., Beyer, E.C. & Saffitz, J.E. Circ. Res. 72, 1124–1131 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Severs, N.J. J. Cardiovasc. Electrophysiol. 5, 462–475 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Spray, D.C. & Burt, J.M. Am. J. Physiol. 258, C195–205 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Reaume, A.G. et al. Science 267, 1831–1834 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Britz-Cunningham, S.H., Shah, M.M., Zuppan, C.W. & Fletcher, W.H. New Engl. J. Med. 332, 1323–1329 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Charles, A.C. Dev. Neurosci. 16, 196–206 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Metha, P.P., Hotz-Wagenblatt, A., Rose, B., Shalloway, D. & Loewenstein, W.R. J. Membr. Biol. 124, 207–225 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Willecke, K., Hennemann, H., Dahl, E., Jungbluth, S. & Heynkes, R. European J. Cell Biol. 56, 1–7 (1991).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Beyer, E.C., Paul, D.L. & Goodenough, D.A. J. Membr. Biol. 116, 187–194 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Unwin, P.N.T. & Ennis, P.D. Nature 307, 609–613 (1984).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Makowski, L, Caspar, D.L.D., Philips, W.C & Goodenough, D.A. J. Cell Biol. 74, 629–645 (1977).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Loewenstein, W.R. Physiol. Rev. 61, 829–913 (1981).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Milks, L.C., Kumar, N.M., Houghton, R., Unwin, N. & Gilula, N.B. EMBO J. 7, 2967–2975 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Yancey, S.B., John, S.A., Lal, R., Austin, B. & Revel, J.P. J. Cell Biol. 108, 2241–2254 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Yeager, M. & Gilula, N.B. J. Mol. Biol. 223, 929–948 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Cascio, M., Gogol, E. & Wallace, B.A. J. Biol. Chem. 265, 2358–2364 (1990).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Yeager, M. in Gap Junctions (eds Hall, J.E., Zampighi, G.A. & Davis, R.M.) 47–55 (Elsevier New York, 1993).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  19. Tibbits, T.T., Caspar, D.L.D., Philips, W.C. & Goodenough, D.A. Biophys. J. 57, 1025–1036 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Kanter, H.L., Saffitz, J.E. & Beyer, E.C. J. Mol. Cell Cardiol. 26, 861–868 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Musil, L.S., Cunningham, B.A., Edelman, G.M. & Goodenough, D.A J. Cell Biol. 111, 2077–2088 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Kumar, N.M., Friend, D.S. & Gilula, N.B. J. Cell Sci. 108, 3725–3734 (1995).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Brightman, M.W. & Reese, T.S. J. Cell Biol. 40, 648 (1969).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Friend, D.S. & Gilula, N.B. J. Cell Biol. 53, 758–776 (1972).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Henderson, R., Baldwin, J.M., Downing, K.H., Lepault, J. & Zemlin, F. Ultramicroscopy 19, 147–178 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Henderson, R. et al. J. Mol. Biol. 213, 899–929 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Baker, T.S., Caspar, D.L.D., Hollingshead, C.J. & Goodenough, D.A. J. Cell Biol. 96, 204–216 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Makowski, L., Caspar, D.L.D., Phillips, W.C., Baker, T.S. & Goodenough, D.A. Biophys. J. 45, 208–218 (1984).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Gogol, E. & Unwin, N. Biophys. J. 54, 105–112 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Yeager, M. Acta Cryst. D50, 632–638 (1994).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Jap, B.K. & Li, H. J. Mol. Biol. 251, 413–420 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Mitra, A.K., van Hoek, A.N. Wiener, M.C., Verkman, A.S. & Yeager, M. Nature Struct. Biol. 2, 726–729 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Kühlbrandt, W., Wang, D.N. & Fujiyoshi, Y. Nature, 367, 614–621 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Schertler, G.F.X. & Hargrave, P.A. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 11578–11582 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Karrasch, S., Bullough, P.A. & Ghosh, R. EMBO J. 14, 631–638 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Unger, V.M. & Schertler, G.F.X. Biophys J. 68, 1776–1786 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Wang, J. et al. Nature 348, 411–418 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. De Vos, A.M., Ultsch, M. & Kossiakoff, A.A. Science 255, 306–312 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Shapiro, L. et al. Nature 374, 327–337 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Yeager, M. Micros. Res. Tech. 31, 452–466 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Valpuesta, J.M., Carrascosa, J.L. & Henderson, R. J. Mol. Biol. 240, 281–287 (1994).

  42. Amos, L.A., Henderson, R. & Unwin, P.N.T. Prog. Biophys. Mol. Biol. 39, 183–231 (1982).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Havelka, W.A., Henderson, R. & Oesterhelt, D. J. Mol. Biol. 247, 726–738 (1995).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Unger, V., Kumar, N., Gilula, N. et al. Projection structure of a gap junction membrane channel at 7 Å resolution. Nat Struct Mol Biol 4, 39–43 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb0197-39

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb0197-39

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing