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Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a genus of viruses in the order Herpesvirales, in the family Herpesviridae, in the subfamily Betaherpesvirinae. Humans and other primates serve as natural hosts. The 11 species in this genus include human betaherpesvirus 5, which is the species that infects humans. Diseases associated with HHV-5 include mononucleosis and pneumonia, and congenital CMV in infants can lead to deafness and ambulatory problems.
An action potential occurs when the membrane potential of a specific cell rapidly rises and falls. This depolarization then causes adjacent locations to similarly depolarize. Action potentials occur in several types of animal cells, called excitable cells, which include neurons, muscle cells, and in some plant cells. Certain endocrine cells such as pancreatic beta cells, and certain cells of the anterior pituitary gland are also excitable cells.
Retrotransposons are a type of genetic component that copy and paste themselves into different genomic locations (transposon) by converting RNA back into DNA through the reverse transcription process using an RNA transposition intermediate.
Voltage-gated ion channels are a class of transmembrane proteins that form ion channels that are activated by changes in the electrical membrane potential near the channel. The membrane potential alters the conformation of the channel proteins, regulating their opening and closing. Cell membranes are generally impermeable to ions, thus they must diffuse through the membrane through transmembrane protein channels. They have a crucial role in excitable cells such as neuronal and muscle tissues, allowing a rapid and co-ordinated depolarization in response to triggering voltage change. Found along the axon and at the synapse, voltage-gated ion channels directionally propagate electrical signals. Voltage-gated ion-channels are usually ion-specific, and channels specific to sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), and chloride (Cl−) ions have been identified. The opening and closing of the channels are triggered by changing ion concentration, and hence charge gradient, between the sides of the cell membrane.
Sodium channels are integral membrane proteins that form ion channels, conducting sodium ions (Na+) through a cell's membrane. They belong to the superfamily of cation channels.
Copy number variation (CNV) is a phenomenon in which sections of the genome are repeated and the number of repeats in the genome varies between individuals. Copy number variation is a type of structural variation: specifically, it is a type of duplication or deletion event that affects a considerable number of base pairs. Approximately two-thirds of the entire human genome may be composed of repeats and 4.8–9.5% of the human genome can be classified as copy number variations. In mammals, copy number variations play an important role in generating necessary variation in the population as well as disease phenotype.
Simian foamy virus (SFV) is a species of the genus Spumavirus that belongs to the family of Retroviridae. It has been identified in a wide variety of primates, including prosimians, New World and Old World monkeys, as well as apes, and each species has been shown to harbor a unique (species-specific) strain of SFV, including African green monkeys, baboons, macaques, and chimpanzees. As it is related to the more well-known retrovirus human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), its discovery in primates has led to some speculation that HIV may have been spread to the human species in Africa through contact with blood from apes, monkeys, and other primates, most likely through bushmeat-hunting practices.
Sodium channel protein type 4 subunit alpha is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SCN4A gene.
Paralytic is a gene in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, which encodes a voltage gated sodium channel within D. melanogaster neurons. This gene is essential for locomotive activity in the fly. There are 9 different para alleles, composed of a minimum of 26 exons within over 78kb of genomic DNA. The para gene undergoes alternative splicing to produce subtypes of the channel protein. Flies with mutant forms of paralytic are used in fly models of seizures, since seizures can be easily induced in these flies.
Sodium channel, voltage-gated, type XI, alpha subunit also known as SCN11A or Nav1.9 is a voltage-gated sodium ion channel protein which is encoded by the SCN11A gene on chromosome 3 in humans. Like Nav1.7 and Nav1.8, Nav1.9 plays a role in pain perception. This channel is largely expressed in small-diameter nociceptors of the dorsal root ganglion and trigeminal ganglion neurons, but is also found in intrinsic myenteric neurons.
Sodium channel protein type 2 subunit alpha, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SCN2A gene. Functional sodium channels contain an ion conductive alpha subunit and one or more regulatory beta subunits. Sodium channels which contain sodium channel protein type 2 subunit alpha are sometimes called Nav1.2 channels.
Sodium channel, voltage-gated, type III, alpha subunit (SCN3A) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SCN3A gene.
Voltage-dependent calcium channel subunit alpha-2/delta-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CACNA2D1 gene.
Fibroblast growth factor 13 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FGF13 gene.
Sodium channel protein type 8 subunit alpha also known as Nav1.6 is a membrane protein encoded by the SCN8A gene. Nav1.6 is one sodium channel isoform and is the primary voltage-gated sodium channel at each node of Ranvier. The channels are highly concentrated in sensory and motor axons in the peripheral nervous system and cluster at the nodes in the central nervous system.
Nax is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SCN7A gene. It is a sodium channel alpha subunit expressed in the heart, the uterus and in glial cells of mice. It has low similarity to all nine other sodium channel alpha subunits (Nav1.1–1.9).
There is much to be discovered about the evolution of the brain and the principles that govern it. While much has been discovered, not everything currently known is well understood. The evolution of the brain has appeared to exhibit diverging adaptations within taxonomic classes such as Mammalia and more vastly diverse adaptations across other taxonomic classes. Brain to body size scales allometrically. This means as body size changes, so do other physiological, anatomical, and biochemical constructs connecting the brain to the body. Small bodied mammals have relatively large brains compared to their bodies whereas large mammals have a smaller brain to body ratios. If brain weight is plotted against body weight for primates, the regression line of the sample points can indicate the brain power of a primate species. Lemurs for example fall below this line which means that for a primate of equivalent size, we would expect a larger brain size. Humans lie well above the line indicating that humans are more encephalized than lemurs. In fact, humans are more encephalized compared to all other primates. This means that human brains have exhibited a larger evolutionary increase in its complexity relative to its size. Some of these evolutionary changes have been found to be linked to multiple genetic factors, such as proteins and other organelles.
Nav1.8 is a sodium ion channel subtype that in humans is encoded by the SCN10A gene.
Ankyrin-3 (ANK-3), also known as ankyrin-G, is a protein from ankyrin family that in humans is encoded by the ANK3 gene.
Voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs), also known as voltage-dependent sodium channels (VDSCs), are a group of voltage-gated ion channels found in the membrane of excitable cells (e.g., muscle, glial cells, neurons, etc.) with a permeability to the sodium ion Na+. They are the main channels involved in action potential of excitable cells.
References
- ↑ "Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
- ↑ "Entrez Gene: Leucine rich repeat containing 37A" . Retrieved 2012-07-24.
- 1 2 Giannuzzi G, Siswara P, Malig M, Marques-Bonet T, Program NC, Mullikin JC, Ventura M, Eichler EE (2013-01-01). "Evolutionary dynamism of the primate LRRC37 gene family". Genome Research. 23 (1): 46–59. doi: 10.1101/gr.138842.112 . ISSN 1088-9051. PMC 3530683 . PMID 23064749.
- ↑ Libé-Philippot B, Lejeune A, Wierda K, Louros N, Erkol E, Vlaeminck I, Beckers S, Gaspariunaite V, Bilheu A, Konstantoulea K, Nyitrai H, De Vleeschouwer M, Vennekens KM, Vidal N, Bird TW (December 2023). "LRRC37B is a human modifier of voltage-gated sodium channels and axon excitability in cortical neurons". Cell. 186 (26): 5766–5783.e25. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.11.028 . ISSN 0092-8674. PMC 10754148 . PMID 38134874.
