Two Drosophila innexins are expressed in overlapping domains and cooperate to form gap-junction channels.

ABSTRACT: Members of the innexin protein family are structural components of invertebrate gap junctions and are analogous to vertebrate connexins. Here we investigate two Drosophila innexin genes, Dm-inx2 and Dm-inx3 and show that they are expressed in overlapping domains throughout embryogenesis, most notably in epidermal cells bordering each segment. We also explore the gap-junction-forming capabilities of the encoded proteins. In paired Xenopus oocytes, the injection of Dm-inx2 mRNA results in the formation of voltage-sensitive channels in only approximately 40% of cell pairs. In contrast, Dm-Inx3 never forms channels. Crucially, when both mRNAs are coexpressed, functional channels are formed reliably, and the electrophysiological properties of these channels distinguish them from those formed by

SUBMITTER: Stebbings LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC14932 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature