Gap junctions represent a ubiquitous and integral part of multicellular organisms, providing the only conduit for direct exchange of nutrients, messengers and ions between neighboring cells. However, at the molecular level we have limited knowledge of their endogenous permeants and selectivity features. By probing the accessibility of systematically substituted cysteine residues to thiol blocke...

Pharmacological blockade or genetic knockout of neuronal connexin 36 (Cx36)-containing gap junctions reduces neuronal death caused by ischemia, traumatic brain injury and NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-mediated excitotoxicity. However, whether Cx36 gap junctions contribute to neuronal death via channel-dependent or channel-independent mechanism remains an open question. To address this, we manipulated c...

the goal of this study was to determine the effects of the l-type calcium channel blockers verapamil and diltiazem on the currents of voltage-gated potassium channel (fkv1.4δn), an n-terminal-deleted mutant of the ferret kv1.4 potassium channel. measurements were made using a two electrode voltage clamp technique with channels expressed stably in xenopus oocytes. the fkv1.4δn currents displayed...

Communication plays an important role in the rapid Connexin Structure progress of modern society. We live in an age when Gap junctions exhibit a hierarchy of assembly. The prininformation is transmitted through many different pathcipal structural component, the membrane protein conways and in many different forms to influence our daily nexin, is organized into the basic unit of structure, the d...

We studied the effect of extremely low frequency (ELF) currents on gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) mediated by connexin43 protein. Confluent monolayers of synovial fibroblasts (HIG-82) and neuroblastoma cells (5Y) were exposed in bath solution to 0-75 mA/m(2) (0-56 mV/m), 60 Hz. Single channel conductance, cell membrane current-voltage (I-V) curves, and Ca(2+) influx were measur...

Open constraint programming, including open constraint satisfaction (Open COP) and open constraint optimization (Open COP), is an extended constraint programming framework designed to model and solve practical problems with openworld settings. We extend open constraint programming to the Open Constraint-Based Inference (Open CBI) framework based on the unified semiring-based CBI framework. The ...

The goal of this study was to determine the effects of the L-type calcium channel blockers verapamil and diltiazem on the currents of voltage-gated potassium channel (fKv1.4ΔN), an N-terminal-deleted mutant of the ferret Kv1.4 potassium channel. Measurements were made using a two electrode voltage clamp technique with channels expressed stably in Xenopus oocytes. The fKv1.4ΔN currents displayed...

Several independent lines of investigation indicate that intercellular communication through gap junctions modulates bladder physiology and, moreover, that altered junctional communication may contribute to detrusor overactivity. However, as far as we are aware, there are still no direct recordings of gap junction-mediated intercellular currents between human or rat detrusor myocytes. Northern ...

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAchRs) are ligand-gated ion channels that regulate chemical transmission at the neuromuscular junction. Structural information is available at low resolution from open and closed forms of an eukaryotic receptor, and at high resolution from other members of the same structural family, two prokaryotic orthologs and an eukaryotic GluCl channel. Structures of hum...

endourologic pyeloplasty is being a substitute of open pyeloplasty in management of ureteropelvic junction obstruction. this procedure can be done in different manners like balloon dilation, cold knife and electrosurgical endoureterotomy, accucise and lasers.a 47 year old woman referred with history of previous open pyeloplasty. hydronephrosis of right kidney with unremarkable t ½ was found in ...