Implications of a temperature-dependent heat capacity for temperature-gated ion channels.

ABSTRACT: Temperature influences dynamics and state-equilibrium distributions in all molecular processes, and only a relatively narrow range of temperatures is compatible with life-organisms must avoid temperature extremes that can cause physical damage or metabolic disruption. Animals evolved a set of sensory ion channels, many of them in the family of transient receptor potential cation channels that detect biologically relevant changes in temperature with remarkable sensitivity. Depending on the specific ion channel, heating or cooling elicits conformational changes in the channel to enable the flow of cations into sensory neurons, giving rise to electrical signaling and sensory perception. The molecular mechanisms responsible for the heightened temperature-sensitivity in these ion channels, as w

SUBMITTER: Yeh F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10268252 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature