Excitability is an attribute of life, and is a driving force in the descent of complexity. Cellular electrical activity as realized by membrane proteins that act as either channels or transporters is the basis of excitability. Electrical signaling is mediated by a wave of action potentials, which consist of synchronous redistribution of ionic gradients down ion channels. Ion channels select for...

Ion channels are key molecules for signal transduction across biological membranes. Combining physiological experiments with DNA sequence data has recently linked many diseases to defects in ion channels and, to acknowledge this, the term ‘channelopathies’ has been coined. While drugs acting on ion channels have long been used as therapeutics, their potential for specific treatment of channelop...

Micro-channels are made over the Ag+/Na+ ion-exchanged soda-lime glass surface by interaction of an intense Ar+ laser beam and the silver ions inside the glass matrix. The Ar+ laser beam reduces the Ag+ ions inside the matrix. The Ag+ atoms aggregate into silver nano-clusters around the interaction area, inside the glass matrix. Aggregation of the silver atoms and the thermal effects of the int...

Neuronal cells communicate with each other by producing electrical signals or action potentials (APs). Different ion channels, including Na+, K+ and Ca2+ channels, are involved in generation of AP. Once an AP is generated in the soma, it travels down entire the axon length toward its terminal in a self-generating fashion that ultimately conveys information between neurons in the neural circuit....

The interaction of ion channels with the actin-based cytoskeleton in epithelial cells not only maintains the polarized expression of ion channels within specific membrane domains, it also functions in the intracellular trafficking and regulation of channel activity. Initial evidence supporting an interaction between epithelial ion channels and the actin-based cytoskeleton came from patch-clamp ...

Ion channels and transporters have increasingly recognized roles in cancer progression through the regulation of cell proliferation, migration, and death. Glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs) are a source of tumor formation and recurrence in glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive brain cancer, suggesting that ion channel expression may be perturbed in this population. However, little is kn...

Ion Channels as therapeutic targets: Ion channels are transmembrane proteins that allow the formation of a concentration gradient between the extracellular and intracellular contents. Three major types of gated ion channels: (1) Ligand gated, (2) Mechanically gated and (3) Voltage gated channels are known to play pivotal roles in a variety of cellular processes within the human body and have be...

Ligand-Gated Channel Receptors. When a neurotransmitter molecule binds to a receptor that acts as a ligand-gated ion channel, a channel opens, allowing ions to flow across the membrane (see figure). The flow of positively charged ions into the cell depolarizes the portion of the membrane nearest the channel. Because this situation is favorable to the subsequent generation of an action potential...

TWIK2 ion channels (K2P6.1, encoded by a gene named Kcnk6) belong to the family of two-pore domain potassium channels. TWIK2 is also considered as a “silent” channel because of its inability to produce measurable currents in heterologous expression systems and its intracellular retention. It is expressed in different mammalian tissues including lymphoid organs and the vascular syste...