Large-pore connexin hemichannels function like molecule transporters independent of ion conduction.

ABSTRACT: Connexin hemichannels were identified as the first members of the eukaryotic large-pore channel family that mediate permeation of both atomic ions and small molecules between the intracellular and extracellular environments. The conventional view is that their pore is a large passive conduit through which both ions and molecules diffuse in a similar manner. In stark contrast to this notion, we demonstrate that the permeation of ions and of molecules in connexin hemichannels can be uncoupled and differentially regulated. We find that human connexin mutations that produce pathologies and were previously thought to be loss-of-function mutations due to the lack of ionic currents are still capable of mediating the passive transport of molecules with kinetics close to those of wild-type channels

SUBMITTER: Gaete PS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11331127 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature