Gap junctions: historical discoveries and new findings in the Caenorhabditiselegans nervous system

Eugene Jennifer Jin, Seungmee Park, Xiaohui Lyu, Yishi Jin
2020 Biology Open  
ABSTRACTGap junctions are evolutionarily conserved structures at close membrane contacts between two cells. In the nervous system, they mediate rapid, often bi-directional, transmission of signals through channels called innexins in invertebrates and connexins in vertebrates. Connectomic studies from Caenorhabditis elegans have uncovered a vast number of gap junctions present in the nervous system and non-neuronal tissues. The genome also has 25 innexin genes that are expressed in spatial and
more » ... mporal dynamic pattern. Recent findings have begun to reveal novel roles of innexins in the regulation of multiple processes during formation and function of neural circuits both in normal conditions and under stress. Here, we highlight the diverse roles of gap junctions and innexins in the C. elegans nervous system. These findings contribute to fundamental understanding of gap junctions in all animals.
doi:10.1242/bio.053983 pmid:32883654 fatcat:tn3ss5lqpfftbfjffofcwwlpmq