Download MendeleyIn situ structure of the human gap junction.
Eshriew, E., Kumpula, E.P., Sah-Teli, S.K., Abettan, A., Djurabekova, A., Sharma, V., Huiskonen, J.T.(2026) Sci Adv 12: eaea4183-eaea4183
- PubMed: 42127184 Search on PubMedSearch on PubMed Central
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea4183
- Primary Citation Related Structures:
9RKX - PubMed Abstract:
Gap junction plaques (GJPs) enable direct intercellular communication and consist of connexin channels arranged into two-dimensional lattices. While structures of purified connexin channels have informed models of gating, they omit key intracellular regions and lack native context. Here, we use cryo-electron tomography and focused ion beam milling to determine the in situ structure of human connexin 43 (Cx43) GJPs in HEK293 cells at 14-Å resolution. We reveal a previously unresolved structural contribution of the large carboxyl-terminal domain to lateral channel-channel interactions that appear critical for plaque assembly. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations suggest how lipids and cholesterol occupy the space between adjacent connexins. These findings resolve a decades-old question regarding gap junction organization and highlight a mechanistic function for the carboxyl-terminal domain, likely regulated by a helix-loop-helix motif. Our study provides a structural blueprint for understanding how connexin diversity and regulation shape tissue-level communication in health and disease.
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
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