title: Innexin-3 forms connexin-like intercellular channels.
abstract: Innexins comprise a large family of genes that are believed to encode invertebrate gap junction channel-forming proteins. However, only two Drosophila innexins have been directly tested for the ability to form intercellular channels and only one of those was active. Here we tested the ability of Caenorhabditis elegans family members INX-3 and EAT-5 to form intercellular channels between paired Xenopus oocytes. We show that expression of INX-3 but not EAT-5, induces electrical coupling between the oocyte pairs. In addition, analysis of INX-3 voltage and pH gating reveals a striking degree of conservation in the functional properties of connexin and innnexin channels. These data strongly support the idea that innexin genes encode intercellular channels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Landesman
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Starich
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Goodenough
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Paul
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D002450:Cell Communication; D017630:Connexins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D014981:Xenopus
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D017630:Connexins; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; C100765:eat-5 protein, C elegans