N-terminal- elongated innexins can act as a plug to manipulate hemichannel closure and provide a mechanism connecting the effect of hemichannel closure directly to apoptotic signal transduction from the intracellular to the extracellular compartment.
The passage describes how N-terminal elongated innexins can block hemichannels, creating a pathway that links hemichannel closure with apoptotic signaling pathways that move from inside to outside the cell.