The Journal of Cell Biology, Vol 82, 66-75, Copyright © 1979 by The Rockefeller University Press
Cardiac gap junction configuration after an uncoupling treatment as a function of time
KM Baldwin
Rabbit ventricle either was fixed in glutaraldehyde without injury
(control) or was injured before fixation, presumably causing electrical
uncoupling of the gap junctions. All tissue was then processed for
freeze-fracture. Replicas of control gap junctions exhibited irregular
packing of the P-face particles and E-face pits. Average center-to- center
spacing of the particles was 10.5 nm. Tissue fixed 1-5 min after injury
showed clumping of gap junctional particles and pits. Within the clumps,
the particles and pits were hexagonally packed and the center- to-center
spacing of the particles averaged 9.5 nm. In tissue fixed 15- 30 min after
injury, the clumps of gap junctional particles had coalesced into a
homogeneous structure in most junctions. The packing of the particles and
pits was hexagonal and the spacing of the particles averaged 9.5 nm. A few
pieces of rabbit atrium were frozen without prior fixation or
cryoprotection to try to assess the effect of glutarldehyde fixation on gap
junction structure. In this tissue the gap junctional particles were
irregularly packed and their spacing averaged 10.0 nm.
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