Abstract
Editorial: Single membrane channels formed by connexins or pannexins: focus on the nervous system
Highlights
For many years, the main function attributed to connexin hemichannels was providing the building blocks of gap junctions channels (GJCs), which allow direct but selective cytoplasmic continuity and molecular exchange between contacting cells
Most of evidence indicates that pannexins support the formation of single membrane channels, similar, to connexin hemichannels; permitting paracrine/autocrine signaling among cells
It is believed that impairments of the permeability properties of connexin hemichannels and pannexons might be critical to the initiation and maintenance of the homeostatic imbalances that are observed in diverse brain diseases
Summary
The main function attributed to connexin hemichannels was providing the building blocks of gap junctions channels (GJCs), which allow direct but selective cytoplasmic continuity and molecular exchange between contacting cells. Most of evidence indicates that pannexins support the formation of single membrane channels (pannexons), similar, to connexin hemichannels; permitting paracrine/autocrine signaling among cells. Paracrine signaling mediated by connexin hemichannels and pannexons is emerging as one of the most widely distributed mechanisms of synchronization in the physiological brain parenchyma.
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