Ion channels: Temperature sensitivity is voltage dependent

High temperature sensitivity is intrinsic to voltage-gated potassium channels

Temperature-sensitive transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels are members of the large tetrameric cation channels superfamily but are considered to be uniquely sensitive to heat, which has been presumed to be due to the existence of an unidentified temperature-sensing domain. Here we report that the homologous voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels also exhibit high temperature sensitivi...

Voltage-dependent ion channels and their gating.

The voltage sensor in voltage-dependent ion channels.

In voltage-dependent Na, K, or Ca channels, the probability of opening is modified by the membrane potential. This is achieved through a voltage sensor that detects the voltage and transfers its energy to the pore to control its gate. We present here the theoretical basis of the energy coupling between the electric field and the voltage, which allows the interpretation of the gating charge that...

Voltage-gated ion channels

differentiated newt cells, but not in their mammalian counterparts. There has been some progress along these lines but not at the level of pinpointing the genetic differences. It is important to remember that there are examples, such as the axolotl lens, where a particular tissue does not regenerate even though the animal is capable of regenerating other structures. Such a context may be more f...

Transmembrane auxiliary subunits of voltage-dependent ion channels.

Auxiliary subunits of voltage-dependent ion channels can be subdivided into two classes. One class consists of the entirely cytoplasmic intracellular subunits, which have no transmembrane domains such as the b subunit of the voltage-dependent Ca channel and the b subunit of the voltage-dependent K channel. The other class of auxiliary subunits contains at least one transmembrane domain and an e...