Gap Junction Protein Alpha 2 (GJa2)

GJa2, Belongs to the connexin family. Alpha-type (group II) subfamily. It is a maternal protein that disappears by the late gastrula stage.One gap junction consists of a cluster of closely packed pairs of transmembrane channels, the connexons, through which materials of low MW diffuse from one cell to a neighboring cell.

Connexins, or gap junction proteins, are a family of structurally-related transmembrane proteins that assemble to form vertebrate gap junctions . Each gap junction is composed of two hemichannels, or connexons, which are themselves each constructed out of six connexin molecules. Gap junctions are essential for many physiological processes, such as the coordinated depolarization of cardiac muscle, and proper embryonic development. For this reason, mutations in connexin-encoding genes can lead to functional and developmental abnormalities.