Connexins: The Gap Junction Proteins

Dr. M.U. Hussain earned his PhD from International Graduate School of Neuroscience (IGSN), Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany, under the supervision of renowned gap-junction neurobiologist, Prof. Dr. Med Rolf Dermietzel. He worked as a post-doctoral research fellow in the department of Neuroanatomy and Molecular Brain Research. During his doctoral and post-doctoral work, Dr Hussain gained research experience in various aspects of modern biology. His doctoral work earned him the highest European honour of “Summa Cum Lauda”. To the credit of Dr. Hussain are many international papers, published in well reputed journals. Presently, Dr. Hussain is senior Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir. His main responsibilities in the department are research and post-graduate teaching. In the department, he supervises research scholars and conducts laboratory courses for the post-graduate students. Besides, he teaches Molecular Biology, Genetic Engineering and Molecular Techniques to post-graduate students.

1. Introduction.- 2. Historical and Topological Perspective of Connexins.- 3. Molecular Components and Nomenclature of Gap Junctions.- 4. General Cell Biology of Connexins.- 5. Genomic Organization of Connexins.- 6. Transcriptional Regulation of the Connexin Gene.- 7. Epigenetic Regulation of Connexins.- 8. Translation Regulation of Connexins.- 9. Interaction Partners of Connexin Proteins.- 10. Tissue Distribution of Connexins.- 11. Connexin Functions.- 12. Connexin Mutations and Disease.- 13. Suggested Reading.