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Structure of the junction between communicating cells

Abstract

An 18-Å resolution map of the ‘gap junction’ has been obtained by electron microscopy. The protein oligomer in the junctional membranes, the ‘connexon’, is a cylinder composed of six subunits which are tilted around its axis. Analysis of two different subunit configurations suggests how the connexon might regulate the passage of small molecules between cell interiors.

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Unwin, P., Zampighi, G. Structure of the junction between communicating cells. Nature 283, 545–549 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/283545a0

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