Summary
Intercellular gap junctions occur between the ciliated cells that make up the comb plates of the ctenophore Pleurobrachia. Similar junctions are found within the ciliated grooves which run from the apical organ to the first plate of each comb row, as well as throughout the endoderm of the meridional canals. Gap junctions were not found in the ectodermal tissue between the comb rows. The distribution of junctions suggests that excitation conduction within the ciliated grooves, comb plates and meridional canal endoderm may be epithelial.
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This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research through Contract N00014-75-C-0242 to J.F. Case and by a grant from University of California, Santa Barbara Patent Fund to R.A. Satterlie. We wish to thank Dr. Steven K. Fisher for the use of facilities in his laboratory, Ken Linberg for criticizing the manuscript and Jennifer Purcell for collecting some of the organisms
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Satterlie, R.A., Case, J.F. Gap junctions suggest epithelial conduction within the comb plates of the ctenophore Pleurobrachia bachei . Cell Tissue Res. 193, 87–91 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00221603
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00221603