unc-1: A stomatin homologue controls sensitivity to volatile anesthetics in Caenorhabditis elegans
- Departments of Anesthesiology and Genetics, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106
-
Edited by Howard A. Nash, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, and approved May 14, 1998 (received for review February 4, 1998)
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.
Footnotes
-
↵ * To whom reprint requests should be addressed at: Department of Anesthesiology, 2400 Bolwell Building, University Hospitals, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106. e-mail: pgm2{at}po.cwru.edu.
-
This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the Proceedings Office.
- Copyright © 1998, The National Academy of Sciences
