Editing Gap junction (section)

====Eye lens====
[[File:Lens3Dmap with txt.jpg|thumb|Eye lens showing arrangement of fiber cells with photos of gap junction plaques from different regions]]Precise control of light refraction, structural dimensions and transparency are key aspects of the eye lens structure that allow focusing by the eye. Transparency is aided by the absence of nerves and blood vessels from the lens, so gap junctions are left with a larger loading of intercellular communication than in other tissues reflected in large numbers of gap junctions. The [[crystallinity]] of the lens also means the cells and gap junctions are well ordered for systematic mapping of where the gap junction plaques are. As no cells are lost from the lens interior during the life of the animal, a complete map of the gap junctions is possible.<ref name = Gruijters>{{cite journal |last1=Gruijters |first1=W.T. |last2=Kistler |first2=J. |last3=Bullivant |first3=S. |title=Formation, distribution and dissociation of intercellular junctions in the lens |journal=Journal of Cell Science |date=1 October 1987 |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=351–359 |doi=10.1242/jcs.88.3.351|pmid=3448099 }}</ref>

The associated figure shows how the size, shape, and frequency of gap junction plaques change with cell growth. With growth, fiber cells are progressively isolated from more direct metabolite exchange with the [[Aqueous humour|aqueous humor]] through the capsule and lens epithelium. The isolation correlates with the classical circular shape of larger plaques shown in the yellow zone being disrupted. Changing the fiber cells' morphology requires the movements of vesicles through the gap junction plaques at higher frequencies in this area.<ref name="Gruijters-vesicles">{{cite journal |last1=Gruijters |first1=W |title=Are gap junction membrane plaques implicated in intercellular vesicle transfer? |journal=Cell Biology International |date=2003 |volume=27 |issue=9 |pages=711–717 |doi=10.1186/s12862-019-1369-4|pmid=30813901 |pmc=6391747 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019BMCEE..19S..46S }}</ref>