Voltage gated ion channel function: gating, conduction, and the role of water and protons.

ABSTRACT: Ion channels, which are found in every biological cell, regulate the concentration of electrolytes, and are responsible for multiple biological functions, including in particular the propagation of nerve impulses. The channels with the latter function are gated (opened) by a voltage signal, which allows Na(+) into the cell and K(+) out. These channels have several positively charged amino acids on a transmembrane domain of their voltage sensor, and it is generally considered, based primarily on two lines of experimental evidence, that these charges move with respect to the membrane to open the channel. At least three forms of motion, with greatly differing extents and mechanisms of motion, have been proposed. There is a "gating current", a capacitative current preceding the channel opening

SUBMITTER: Kariev AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3291986 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature