Description
Connexin 43 (Cx43), also called GAP Junction Protein, alpha-1(GJA1), is a member of the connexin gene family which abundantly expressed in the heart and liver and was mapped to 6q21-q23.2. Connexin 43, the major protein of gap junctions in the heart, is targeted by several protein kinases that regulate myocardial cell-cell coupling. Mutations in the gene, which lead to abnormally regulated cell-cell communication, are associated with visceroatrial heterotaxia. Cx43 also plays a critical role in the physiology of hearing, presumably by participating in the recycling of potassium to the cochlear endolymph