A perspective on Na and K channel inactivation.

ABSTRACT: We are wired with conducting cables called axons that rapidly transmit electrical signals (e.g., "Ouch!") from, for example, the toe to the spinal cord. Because of the high internal resistance of axons (salt water rather than copper), a signal must be reinforced after traveling a short distance. Reinforcement is accomplished by ion channels, Na channels for detecting the signal and reinforcing it by driving it further positive (to near 50 mV) and K channels for then restoring it to the resting level (near -70 mV). The signal is called an action potential and has a duration of roughly a millisecond. The return of membrane voltage (Vm) to the resting level after an action potential is facilitated by "inactivation" of the Na channels: i.e., an internal particle diffuses into the mouth of any

SUBMITTER: Armstrong CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5749110 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature