Tissue Cell. 1995 Jun;27(3):349-53. doi: 10.1016/s0040-8166(95)80056-5.
Tissue & cell
J S Ryerse
PMID: 18621303 DOI: 10.1016/s0040-8166(95)80056-5
The purification of gap junctions from insects has been hampered by low yields when starting with dissected tissues or by contamination with non-junctional structures when starting with intact insects. A method is described here involving filtration and sonication of NaOH-extracted crude membrane fractions from larvae of the lepidopteran Heliothis virescens which yields fractions containing approximately 50% gap junctions and approximately 7 microg total protein per g of larvae and represents an estimated 10-100 fold increase in gap junction enrichment compared with a previously described procedure (Cell Tissue Res. 274: 393-403, 1993). The remaining structures in the fractions consist of non-junctional membrane, septate junctions, lamellate bodies and amorphous material.
