A gap junction or nexus is a specialized intercellular connection between a multitude of animal cell-types. It directly connects the cytoplasm of two cells, which allows various molecules and ions to pass freely between cells.
One gap junction channel is composed of two connexons (or hemichannels) which connect across the intercellular space. Gap junctions are analogous to the plasmodesmata that join plant cells.
Read more about Gap Junction: Structure, Levels of Organization, Properties of Connexon Channel Pairs, Occurrence and Distribution, Functions
Famous quotes containing the words gap and/or junction:
“The temples, the tank, the jail, the palace, the birds, the carrion, the Guest House, that came into view as they issued from the gap and saw Mau beneath: they didn’t want it, they said in their hundred voices, “No, not yet,” and the sky said, “No, not there.””
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)
“In order to get to East Russet you take the Vermont Central as far as Twitchell’s Falls and change there for Torpid River Junction, where a spur line takes you right into Gormley. At Gormley you are met by a buckboard which takes you back to Torpid River Junction again.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)