CGC Bibliography Paper 3155

unc-1: A stomatin homologue controls sensitivity to volative anesthetics in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Rajaram S, Sedensky MM, Morgan PG

Medline:

98337989

Citation:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 95: 8761-8766 1998

Type:

ARTICLE

Genes:

unc-1 unc-79

Abstract:

To identify sites of action of volatile anesthetics, we are studying genes in a functional pathway that controls sensitivity to volatile anesthetics in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The unc-1 gene occupies a central position in this pathway. Different alleles of unc-1 have unique effects on sensitivity to the different volatile anesthetics. UNC-1 shows extensive homology to human stomatin, an integral membrane protein thought to regulate an associated ion channel. We postulate that UNC-1 has a direct effect on anesthetic sensitivity in C. elegans and may represent a molecular target for volatile anesthetics.