This rabbit anti-Connexin 26 polyclonal antibody is specific to mouse and rat Connexin 26, and based on sequence homology, is expected to react with human but has not been confirmed. Connexin 26 polyclonal antibody recognizes the expressed product of the GJB2 gene also known as Gjb2, Gjb2. Connexin 26 is expressed highly in prenatal brain, decreasing after birth. Validated applications for Connexin 26 polyclonal antibody are immunohistochemistry Western blotting and ELISA.

Applications: validated for immunohistochemistry Western blotting and ELISA
Host species and isotype: rabbit IgG.
Polyclonal antibody designation: UM214
Reactivity: mouse and rat (human) Connexin 26
Product size: 50 µg pack size

Intercellular communication through gap junctions plays an important role in a variety of cellular processes including homeostasis, morphogenesis, cell differentiation, and growth control. Gap junctions are transmembrane channels that serve to directly link neighboring cells by mediating the exchange of low-molecular weight (<1200 Da) metabolites, ions, and second messengers. Gap junctions are formed by the interaction of hemichannels (connexons) on adjacent cells. The connexon itself is composed of a hexameric assembly of connexin proteins. Connexins are highly homologous proteins encoded by a multigene family. The connexins exhibit similar structural features, which include a cytoplasmic amino terminal region, four transmembrane domains, two extracellular loops, and a carboxy-terminal cytoplasmic tail of varying length. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of the various connexin family members indicate that the two areas of greatest divergence amongst the connexin family members are the intracellular loop connecting the second and third transmembrane segments and the carboxy-terminal tail. These domains are, therefore, thought to mediate connexin-type specific properties including phosphorylation, responses to gating stimuli, as well as assembly and membrane turnover.

Modulation of gap junction communication can be achieved by multiple mechanisms and can occur very rapidly or over a period of several hours. These mechanisms include alterations in transcription, translation, stability, postranslational processing (especially phosphorylation), gating, and insertion or removal from the plasma membrane. Interestingly, reduction or alterations in the levels or types of connexin expressed in a given cell type has been found to correlate with tumor progression and metastasis.

Connexin 30 (Cx-30) is a recently identified member of the connexin gene family, isolated by screening a mouse genomic library with a rat Cx26 probe. Cx30 is closely related to Cx26 (77% amino acid sequence identity), but the two show distinct tissue expression patterns: Cx30 is highly expressed in adult skin and brain while but not in embryonic and fetal brain. On the other hand, Cx26 is expressed highly in prenatal brain, decreasing after birth.