Sodium channels are integral membrane proteins that form ion channels, conducting sodium ions (Na+) through a cell's membrane. [1] [2] They belong to the superfamily of cation channels.
They are classified into 2 types:
Type of sodium channel | Synonyms | Trigger (factor that stimulates the channel) |
---|---|---|
Voltage-gated sodium channels |
| change in membrane potential, which is also called change in voltage |
ligand-gated sodium channels | LGSCs | binding of substances such as ligands to the channel |
Leak sodium channel | NALCN | Ungated, always open |
In excitable cells such as neurons, myocytes, and certain types of glia, sodium channels are responsible for the rising phase of action potentials. These channels go through three different states called resting, active and inactive states. Even though the resting and inactive states would not allow the ions to flow through the channels the difference exists with respect to their structural conformation.
Sodium channels are highly selective for the transport of ions across cell membranes. The high selectivity with respect to the sodium ion is achieved in many different ways. All involve encapsulation of the sodium ion in a cavity of specific size within a larger molecule. [3]
Sodium channels consist of large alpha subunits that associate with accessory proteins, such as beta subunits. An alpha subunit forms the core of the channel and is functional on its own. When the alpha subunit protein is expressed by a cell, it is able to form a pore in the cell membrane that conducts Na+ in a voltage-dependent way, even if beta subunits or other known modulating proteins are not expressed. When accessory proteins assemble with α subunits, the resulting complex can display altered voltage dependence and cellular localization.
The alpha subunit consists of four repeat domains, labelled I through IV, each containing six membrane-spanning segments, labelled S1 through S6. The highly conserved S4 segment acts as the channel's voltage sensor. The voltage sensitivity of this channel is due to positive amino acids located at every third position. [5] When stimulated by a change in transmembrane voltage, this segment moves toward the extracellular side of the cell membrane, allowing the channel to become permeable to ions. The ions are conducted through the central pore cavity, which consists of two main regions. The more external (i.e., more extracellular) portion of the pore is formed by the "P-loops" (the region between S5 and S6) of the four domains. This region is the most narrow part of the pore and is responsible for its ion selectivity. The inner portion (i.e., more cytoplasmic) of the pore is the pore gate and is formed by the combined S5 and S6 segments of the four domains. The pore domain also features lateral tunnels or fenestrations that run perpendicular to the pore axis. These fenestrations that connect the central cavity to the membrane are proposed to be important for drug accessibility. [6] [7] [8]
In mammalian sodium channels, the region linking domains III and IV is also important for channel function. This DIII-IV linker is responsible for wedging the pore gate shut after channel opening, inactivating it. [9]
Voltage-gated Na+ channels have three main conformational states: closed, open and inactivated. Forward/back transitions between these states are correspondingly referred to as activation/deactivation (between open and closed, respectively), inactivation/reactivation (between inactivated and open, respectively), and recovery from inactivation/closed-state inactivation (between inactivated and closed, respectively). Closed and inactivated states are ion impermeable.
Before an action potential occurs, the axonal membrane is at its normal resting potential, about −70 mV in most human neurons, and Na+ channels are in their deactivated state, blocked on the extracellular side by their activation gates. In response to an increase of the membrane potential to about −55 mV (in this case, caused by an action potential), the activation gates open, allowing positively charged Na+ ions to flow into the neuron through the channels, and causing the voltage across the neuronal membrane to increase to +30 mV in human neurons. Because the voltage across the membrane is initially negative, as its voltage increases to and past zero (from −70 mV at rest to a maximum of +30 mV), it is said to depolarize. This increase in voltage constitutes the rising phase of an action potential.
Action Potential | Membrane Potential | Target Potential | Gate's Target State | Neuron's Target State |
---|---|---|---|---|
Resting | −70 mV | −55 mV | Deactivated → Activated | Polarized |
Rising | −55 mV | 0 mV | Activated | Polarized → Depolarized |
Rising | 0 mV | +30 mV | Activated → Inactivated | Depolarized |
Falling | +30 mV | 0 mV | Inactivated | Depolarized → Repolarized |
Falling | 0 mV | −70 mV | Inactivated | Repolarized |
Undershot | −70 mV | −75 mV | Inactivated → Deactivated | Repolarized → Hyperpolarized |
Rebounding | −75 mV | −70 mV | Deactivated | Hyperpolarized → Polarized |
At the peak of the action potential, when enough Na+ has entered the neuron and the membrane's potential has become high enough, the Na+ channels inactivate themselves by closing their inactivation gates . The inactivation gate can be thought of as a "plug" tethered to domains III and IV of the channel's intracellular alpha subunit. Closure of the inactivation gate causes Na+ flow through the channel to stop, which in turn causes the membrane potential to stop rising. The closing of the inactivation gate creates a refractory period within each individual Na+ channel. This refractory period eliminates the possibility of an action potential moving in the opposite direction back towards the soma. With its inactivation gate closed, the channel is said to be inactivated. With the Na+ channel no longer contributing to the membrane potential, the potential decreases back to its resting potential as the neuron repolarizes and subsequently hyperpolarizes itself, and this constitutes the falling phase of an action potential. The refractory period of each channel is therefore vital in propagating the action potential unidirectionally down an axon for proper communication between neurons.
When the membrane's voltage becomes low enough, the inactivation gate reopens and the activation gate closes in a process called deinactivation. With the activation gate closed and the inactivation gate open, the Na+ channel is once again in its deactivated state, and is ready to participate in another action potential.
When any kind of ion channel does not inactivate itself, it is said to be persistently (or tonically) active. Some kinds of ion channels are naturally persistently active. However, genetic mutations that cause persistent activity in other channels can cause disease by creating excessive activity of certain kinds of neurons. Mutations that interfere with Na+ channel inactivation can contribute to cardiovascular diseases or epileptic seizures by window currents, which can cause muscle and/or nerve cells to become over-excited.
The temporal behavior of Na+ channels can be modeled by a Markovian scheme or by the Hodgkin–Huxley-type formalism. In the former scheme, each channel occupies a distinct state with differential equations describing transitions between states; in the latter, the channels are treated as a population that are affected by three independent gating variables. Each of these variables can attain a value between 1 (fully permeant to ions) and 0 (fully non-permeant), the product of these variables yielding the percentage of conducting channels. The Hodgkin–Huxley model can be shown to be equivalent to a Markovian model.[ further explanation needed ]
The pore of sodium channels contains a selectivity filter made of negatively charged amino acid residues, which attract the positive Na+ ion and keep out negatively charged ions such as chloride. The cations flow into a more constricted part of the pore that is 0.3 by 0.5 nm wide, which is just large enough to allow a single Na+ ion with a water molecule associated to pass through. The larger K+ ion cannot fit through this area. Ions of different sizes also cannot interact as well with the negatively charged glutamic acid residues that line the pore. [ citation needed ]
Voltage-gated sodium channels normally consist of an alpha subunit that forms the ion conduction pore and one to two beta subunits that have several functions including modulation of channel gating. [10] Expression of the alpha subunit alone is sufficient to produce a functional channel.
The family of sodium channels has 9 known members, with amino acid identity >50% in the trans-membrane segments and extracellular loop regions. A standardized nomenclature for sodium channels is currently used and is maintained by the IUPHAR. [11]
The proteins of these channels are named Nav1.1 through Nav1.9. The gene names are referred to as SCN1A through SCN5A, then SCN8A through SCN11A. [11] The "tenth member", Nax, does not act in a voltage-gated way. It has a loosely similar overall structure. Not much is known about its real function, other than that it also associates with beta subunits. [12]
The probable evolutionary relationship between these channels, based on the similarity of their amino acid sequences, is shown in figure 1. The individual sodium channels are distinguished not only by differences in their sequence but also by their kinetics and expression profiles. Some of this data is summarized in table 1, below.
Protein name | Gene | Expression profile | Associated human channelopathies |
---|---|---|---|
Nav1.1 | SCN1A | Central neurons, [peripheral neurons] and cardiac myocytes | febrile epilepsy, GEFS+, Dravet syndrome (also known as severe myclonic epilepsy of infancy or SMEI), borderline SMEI (SMEB), West syndrome (also known as infantile spasms), Doose syndrome (also known as myoclonic astatic epilepsy), intractable childhood epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (ICEGTC), Panayiotopoulos syndrome, familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM), familial autism, Rasmussens's encephalitis and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome [13] |
Nav1.2 | SCN2A | Central neurons, peripheral neurons | inherited febrile seizures, epilepsy, and autism spectrum disorder |
Nav1.3 | SCN3A | Central neurons, peripheral neurons and cardiac myocytes | epilepsy, pain, brain malformations [14] [15] |
Nav1.4 | SCN4A | Skeletal muscle | hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, paramyotonia congenita, and potassium-aggravated myotonia |
Nav1.5 | SCN5A | Cardiac myocytes, uninnervated skeletal muscle, central neurons, gastrointestinal smooth muscle cells and Interstitial cells of Cajal | Cardiac: Long QT syndrome Type 3, Brugada syndrome, progressive cardiac conduction disease, familial atrial fibrillation and idiopathic ventricular fibrillation; [16] Gastrointestinal: Irritable bowel syndrome; [17] |
Nav1.6 | SCN8A | Central neurons, dorsal root ganglia, peripheral neurons, heart, glia cells | Epilepsy, [18] ataxia, dystonia, tremor [19] |
Nav1.7 | SCN9A | Dorsal root ganglia, sympathetic neurons, Schwann cells, and neuroendocrine cells | erythromelalgia, PEPD, channelopathy-associated insensitivity to pain [14] and recently discovered a disabling form of fibromyalgia (rs6754031 polymorphism) [20] |
Nav1.8 | SCN10A | Dorsal root ganglia | pain, [14] neuropsychiatric disorders |
Nav1.9 | SCN11A | Dorsal root ganglia | pain [14] |
Nax | SCN7A | heart, uterus, skeletal muscle, astrocytes, dorsal root ganglion cells | none known |
Sodium channel beta subunits are type 1 transmembrane glycoproteins with an extracellular N-terminus and a cytoplasmic C-terminus. As members of the Ig superfamily, beta subunits contain a prototypic V-set Ig loop in their extracellular domain. They do not share any homology with their counterparts of calcium and potassium channels. [21] Instead, they are homologous to neural cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) and the large family of L1 CAMs. There are four distinct betas named in order of discovery: SCN1B, SCN2B, SCN3B, SCN4B (table 2). Beta 1 and beta 3 interact with the alpha subunit non-covalently, whereas beta 2 and beta 4 associate with alpha via disulfide bond. [22] Sodium channels are more likely to stay open at the subthreshold membrane potential when interacting with beta toxins, which in turn induces an immediate sensation of pain. [23]
In addition to regulating channel gating, sodium channel beta subunits also modulate channel expression and form links to the intracellular cytoskeleton via ankyrin and spectrin. [10] [24] [25] Voltage-gated sodium channels also assemble with a variety of other proteins, such as FHF proteins (Fibroblast growth factor Homologous Factor), calmodulin, cytoskeleton or regulatory kinases, [26] [10] [27] [28] [29] which form a complex with sodium channels, influencing its expression and/or function. Several beta subunits interact with one or more extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules. Contactin, also known as F3 or F11, associates with beta 1 as shown via co-immunoprecipitation. [30] Fibronectin-like (FN-like) repeats of Tenascin-C and Tenascin-R bind with beta 2 in contrast to the Epidermal growth factor-like (EGF-like) repeats that repel beta2. [31] A disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM) 10 sheds beta 2's ectodomain possibly inducing neurite outgrowth. [32] Beta 3 and beta 1 bind to neurofascin at Nodes of Ranvier in developing neurons. [33]
Protein name | Gene link | Assembles with | Expression profile | Associated human channelopathies |
---|---|---|---|---|
Navβ1 | SCN1B | Nav1.1 to Nav1.7 | Central Neurons, Peripheral Neurons, skeletal muscle, heart, glia | epilepsy (GEFS+), Brugada syndrome [34] |
Navβ2 | SCN2B | Nav1.1, Nav1.2, Nav1.5 to Nav1.7 | Central Neurons, peripheral neurons, heart, glia | Brugada syndrome [34] |
Navβ3 | SCN3B | Nav1.1 to Nav1.3, Nav1.5 | central neurons, adrenal gland, kidney, peripheral neurons | Brugada syndrome [34] |
Navβ4 | SCN4B | Nav1.1, Nav1.2, Nav1.5 | heart, skeletal muscle, central and peripheral neurons | none known |
Ligand-gated sodium channels are activated by binding of a ligand instead of a change in membrane potential.
They are found, e.g. in the neuromuscular junction as nicotinic receptors, where the ligands are acetylcholine molecules. Most channels of this type are permeable to potassium to some degree as well as to sodium.
Voltage-gated sodium channels play an important role in action potentials. If enough channels open when there is a change in the cell's membrane potential, a small but significant number of Na+ ions will move into the cell down their electrochemical gradient, further depolarizing the cell. Thus, the more Na+ channels localized in a region of a cell's membrane the faster the action potential will propagate and the more excitable that area of the cell will be. This is an example of a positive feedback loop. The ability of these channels to assume a closed-inactivated state causes the refractory period and is critical for the propagation of action potentials down an axon.
Na+ channels both open and close more quickly than K+ channels, producing an influx of positive charge (Na+) toward the beginning of the action potential and an efflux (K+) toward the end.
Ligand-gated sodium channels, on the other hand, create the change in the membrane potential in the first place, in response to the binding of a ligand to it. Leak sodium channels additionally contribute to action potential regulation by modulating the resting potential (and in turn, the excitability) of a cell. [35]
The following naturally produced substances persistently activate (open) sodium channels:
The following toxins modify the gating of sodium channels:
Sodium leak channels do not show any voltage or ligand gating. Instead, they are always open or "leaking" a small background current to regulate the resting membrane potential of a neuron. [35] In most animals, a single gene encodes the NALCN (sodium leak channel, nonselective) protein. [38]
Despite following the same basic structure as other sodium channels, NALCN is not sensitive to voltage changes. The voltage-sensitive S4 transmembrane domain of NALCN has fewer positively charged amino acids (13 instead of a voltage gated channel's 21) possibly explaining its voltage insensitivity. [35] NALCN is also far less selective for Na+ ions and is permeable to Ca2+ and K+ ions. The EEKE amino acid motif in the pore filter domain of NALCN is similar to both the EEEE motif of voltage-gated calcium channel and the DEKA motif of the voltage-gated sodium channel, possibly explaining its lack of selectivity. [38]
NALCN is not blocked by many common sodium channel blockers, including tetrodotoxin. NALCN is blocked nonspecifically by both Gd3+ and verapamil. [39] Substance P and neurotensin both activate Src family kinases through their respective GPCRs (independent of the coupled G-proteins) which in turn increase the permeability of NALCN through UNC80 activation. [40] Acetylcholine can also increase NALCN activity through M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. [41] Higher levels of extracellular Ca2+ decrease the permeability of NALCN by activating CaSR which inhibits UNC80. [42]
NALCN complexes with the proteins UNC79, UNC80, and FAM155A. [43] [44] [45] UNC79 appears to be linked to membrane stability of NALCN and linkage with UNC 80. [44] UNC80 mediates chemical modulation of NALCN through multiple pathways. [35] [42] [41] [40] FAM155A helps protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum, chaperones transport to the axon, and contributes to membrane stability. [45]
The resting membrane potential of a neuron is usually -60mV to -80mV, driven primarily by the K+ potential at -90mV. The depolarization from the K+ potential is due primarily to a small Na+ leak current. About 70% of this current is through NALCN. [39] Increasing NALCN permeability lowers the resting membrane potential, bringing it closer to the trigger of an action potential (-55mV), thus increasing the excitability of a neuron.
Mutations to NALCN lead to severe disruptions to respiratory rhythm in mice [39] and altered circadian locomotion in flies. [46] Mutations to NALCN have also been linked to multiple severe developmental disorders [47] and cervical dystonia. [48] Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are also linked to mutations to NALCN. [49]
Changes in blood and tissue pH accompany physiological and pathophysiological conditions such as exercise, cardiac ischemia, ischemic stroke, and cocaine ingestion. These conditions are known to trigger the symptoms of electrical diseases in patients carrying sodium channel mutations. Protons cause a diverse set of changes to sodium channel gating, which generally lead to decreases in the amplitude of the transient sodium current and increases in the fraction of non-inactivating channels that pass persistent currents. These effects are shared with disease-causing mutants in neuronal, skeletal muscle, and cardiac tissue and may be compounded in mutants that impart greater proton sensitivity to sodium channels, suggesting a role of protons in triggering acute symptoms of electrical disease. [50]
Single channel data from cardiomyocytes have shown that protons can decrease the conductance of individual sodium channels. [51] The sodium channel selectivity filter is composed of a single residue in each of the four pore-loops of the four functional domains. These four residues are known as the DEKA motif. [52] The permeation rate of sodium through the sodium channel is determined by a four carboxylate residues, the EEDD motif, which make up the outer charged ring. [52] The protonation of these carboxylates is one of the main drivers of proton block in sodium channels, although there are other residues that also contribute to pH sensitivity. [53] One such residue is C373 in the cardiac sodium channel which makes it the most pH-sensitive sodium channel among the sodium channels that have been studied to date. [54]
As the cardiac sodium channel is the most pH-sensitive sodium channel, most of what is known is based on this channel. Reduction in extracellular pH has been shown to depolarize the voltage-dependence of activation and inactivation to more positive potentials. This indicates that during activities that decrease the blood pH, such as exercising, the probability of channels activating and inactivating is higher more positive membrane potentials, which can lead to potential adverse effects. [55] The sodium channels expressed in skeletal muscle fibers have evolved into relatively pH-insensitive channels. This has been suggested to be a protective mechanism against potential over- or under-excitability in skeletal muscles, as blood pH levels are highly susceptible to change during movement. [56] [57] Recently, a mixed syndrome mutation that causes periodic paralysis and myotonia in the skeletal sodium channel has been shown to impart pH-sensitivity in this channel, making the gating of this channel similar to that of the cardiac subtype. [58]
The effects of protonation have been characterized in Nav1.1–Nav1.5. Among these channels, Nav1.1–Nav1.3 and Nav1.5 display depolarized voltage-dependence of activation, while activation in Nav1.4 remains insensitive to acidosis. The voltage-dependence of steady-state fast inactivation is unchanged in Nav1.1–Nav1.4, but steady-state fast inactivation in Nav1.5 is depolarized. Hence, among the sodium channels that have been studied so far, Nav1.4 is the least and Nav1.5 is the most proton-sensitive subtypes. [59]
Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins that allow ions to pass through the channel pore. Their functions include establishing a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by gating the flow of ions across the cell membrane, controlling the flow of ions across secretory and epithelial cells, and regulating cell volume. Ion channels are present in the membranes of all cells. Ion channels are one of the two classes of ionophoric proteins, the other being ion transporters.
Hyperpolarization is a change in a cell's membrane potential that makes it more negative. Cells typically have a negative resting potential, with neuronal action potentials depolarizing the membrane. When the resting membrane potential is made more negative, it increases the minimum stimulus needed to surpass the needed threshold. Neurons naturally become hyperpolarized at the end of an action potential, which is often referred to as the relative refractory period. Relative refractory periods typically last 2 milliseconds, during which a stronger stimulus is needed to trigger another action potential. Cells can also become hyperpolarized depending on channels and receptors present on the membrane, which can have an inhibitory effect.
Membrane potential is the difference in electric potential between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell. It equals the interior potential minus the exterior potential. This is the energy per charge which is required to move a positive charge at constant velocity across the cell membrane from the exterior to the interior.
Potassium channels are the most widely distributed type of ion channel found in virtually all organisms. They form potassium-selective pores that span cell membranes. Potassium channels are found in most cell types and control a wide variety of cell functions.
Voltage-gated ion channels are a class of transmembrane proteins that form ion channels that are activated by changes in a cell's 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.
Voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), also known as voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs), are a group of voltage-gated ion channels found in the membrane of excitable cells (e.g. muscle, glial cells, neurons) with a permeability to the calcium ion Ca2+. These channels are slightly permeable to sodium ions, so they are also called Ca2+–Na+ channels, but their permeability to calcium is about 1000-fold greater than to sodium under normal physiological conditions.
Voltage-gated potassium channels (VGKCs) are transmembrane channels specific for potassium and sensitive to voltage changes in the cell's membrane potential. During action potentials, they play a crucial role in returning the depolarized cell to a resting state.
Sodium channel protein type 4 subunit alpha is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SCN4A gene.
Sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 9 is a sodium ion channel that, in humans, is encoded by the SCN9A gene. It is usually expressed at high levels in two types of neurons: the nociceptive (pain) neurons at the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and trigeminal ganglion; and sympathetic ganglion neurons, which are part of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system.
T-type calcium channels are low voltage activated calcium channels that become inactivated during cell membrane hyperpolarization but then open to depolarization. The entry of calcium into various cells has many different physiological responses associated with it. Within cardiac muscle cell and smooth muscle cells voltage-gated calcium channel activation initiates contraction directly by allowing the cytosolic concentration to increase. Not only are T-type calcium channels known to be present within cardiac and smooth muscle, but they also are present in many neuronal cells within the central nervous system. Different experimental studies within the 1970s allowed for the distinction of T-type calcium channels from the already well-known L-type calcium channels. The new T-type channels were much different from the L-type calcium channels due to their ability to be activated by more negative membrane potentials, had small single channel conductance, and also were unresponsive to calcium antagonist drugs that were present. These distinct calcium channels are generally located within the brain, peripheral nervous system, heart, smooth muscle, bone, and endocrine system.
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.
Scorpion toxins are proteins found in the venom of scorpions. Their toxic effect may be mammal- or insect-specific and acts by binding with varying degrees of specificity to members of the Voltage-gated ion channel superfamily; specifically, voltage-gated sodium channels, voltage-gated potassium channels, and Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels. The result of this action is to activate or inhibit the action of these channels in the nervous and cardiac organ systems. For instance, α-scorpion toxins MeuNaTxα-12 and MeuNaTxα-13 from Mesobuthus eupeus are neurotoxins that target voltage-gated Na+ channels (Navs), inhibiting fast inactivation. In vivo assays of MeuNaTxα-12 and MeuNaTxα-13 effects on mammalian and insect Navs show differential potency. These recombinants exhibit their preferential affinity for mammalian and insect Na+ channels at the α-like toxins' active site, site 3, in order to inactivate the cell membrane depolarization faster[6]. The varying sensitivity of different Navs to MeuNaTxα-12 and MeuNaTxα-13 may be dependent on the substitution of a conserved Valine residue for a Phenylalanine residue at position 1630 of the LD4:S3-S4 subunit or due to various changes in residues in the LD4:S5-S6 subunit of the Navs. Ultimately, these actions can serve the purpose of warding off predators by causing pain or to subdue predators.
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.
The SCNN1D gene encodes for the δ (delta) subunit of the epithelial sodium channel ENaC in vertebrates. ENaC is assembled as a heterotrimer composed of three homologous subunits α, β, and γ or δ, β, and γ. The other ENAC subunits are encoded by SCNN1A, SCNN1B, and SCNN1G.
Nav1.8 is a sodium ion channel subtype that in humans is encoded by the SCN10A gene.
In electrophysiology, the term gating refers to the opening (activation) or closing of ion channels. This change in conformation is a response to changes in transmembrane voltage.
A depolarizing prepulse (DPP) is an electrical stimulus that causes the potential difference measured across a neuronal membrane to become more positive or less negative, and precedes another electrical stimulus. DPPs may be of either the voltage or current stimulus variety and have been used to inhibit neural activity, selectively excite neurons, and increase the pain threshold associated with electrocutaneous stimulation.
Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are neuronal voltage-insensitive sodium channels activated by extracellular protons permeable to Na+. ASIC1 also shows low Ca2+ permeability. ASIC proteins are a subfamily of the ENaC/Deg superfamily of ion channels. These genes have splice variants that encode for several isoforms that are marked by a suffix. In mammals, acid-sensing ion channels (ASIC) are encoded by five genes that produce ASIC protein subunits: ASIC1, ASIC2, ASIC3, ASIC4, and ASIC5. Three of these protein subunits assemble to form the ASIC, which can combine into both homotrimeric and heterotrimeric channels typically found in both the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. However, the most common ASICs are ASIC1a and ASIC1a/2a and ASIC3. ASIC2b is non-functional on its own but modulates channel activity when participating in heteromultimers and ASIC4 has no known function. On a broad scale, ASICs are potential drug targets due to their involvement in pathological states such as retinal damage, seizures, and ischemic brain injury.
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.
In neuroscience, ball and chain inactivation is a model to explain the fast inactivation mechanism of voltage-gated ion channels. The process is also called hinged-lid inactivation or N-type inactivation. A voltage-gated ion channel can be in three states: open, closed, or inactivated. The inactivated state is mainly achieved through fast inactivation, by which a channel transitions rapidly from an open to an inactivated state. The model proposes that the inactivated state, which is stable and non-conducting, is caused by the physical blockage of the pore. The blockage is caused by a "ball" of amino acids connected to the main protein by a string of residues on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. The ball enters the open channel and binds to the hydrophobic inner vestibule within the channel. This blockage causes inactivation of the channel by stopping the flow of ions. This phenomenon has mainly been studied in potassium channels and sodium channels.
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