Structure of gap junctions in cultures of normal and neoplastic bladder epithelial cells

Summary Normal rat urinary bladder epithelial cells contain small subunit (PF-1) and large subunit (PF-2) gap junctions, whereas carcinoma cells only contain PF-1 gap junctions. The absence of PF-2 gap junctions, which are composed of larger connexons with slightly larger ionic channels, may contribute to altered metabolic coupling between urinary bladder carcinoma cells.Acknowledgments. The authors wish to thank Ms Denise Wiler and Mr William Leonard for expert technical assistance. This work was supported by funds from the National Cancer Institute, CA-25034, and in part by the Otho SA Sprague Memorial Institute.