Abstract
Electric signaling by ion channels is a fundamental regulatory pathway in all organisms, from prokaryotes to humans. Voltage-gated ion channels for Na+, Ca2+, K+, and Cl− are responsible for action potential generation in electrically excitable cells, and for regulation of membrane potential and intracellular Ca2+ levels in other cell types. These channels are composed of pore-forming and accessory subunits, that are part of multiproteic complexes at the cell membrane. The specific subunits expressed in different cell types and subcellular domains are under tight transcriptional and post-translational control, allowing for a cell type to have a very specific electrophysiological behavior. Dysfunction of these channels can result in human disease, most commonly epilepsy or cardiac arrhythmia, and are themselves targets of therapeutic agents.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bouza AA, Isom LL (2018) Voltage-gated sodium channel β subunits and their related diseases. Handb Exp Pharmacol 246:423–450
Brewer KR, Kuenze G, Vanoye CG, George AL, Meiler J, Sanders CR (2020) Structures illuminate cardiac ion channel functions in health and in long QT syndrome. Front Pharmacol 11:550. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.00550
Catterall W, Lenaeus MJ, Gamal El-Din TM (2020) Structure and pharmacology of voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 60:133–154
Chahine M (ed) (2018) Voltage-gated sodium channels: Structure, function, and channelopathies. Cham, Switzerland, Springer
Haworth AS, Brackenbury WJ (2019) Emerging roles for multifunctional ion channel auxiliary subunits in cancer. Cell Calcium 80:125–140
Hille B (2001) Ion channels of excitable membranes, 3rd edn. Sunderland, Massachusetts, Sinauer
Jan LY, Jan YN (2012) Voltage-gated potassium channels and the diversity of electrical signaling. J Physiol 590(11):2591–2599
Jentsch TJ, Pusch M (2018) CLC chloride channels and transporters: Structure, function, physiology, and disease. Physiol Rev 98:1493–1590
Rivolta I, Binda A, Masi A, DiFrancesco JC (2020) Cardiac and neuronal HCN channelopathies. Pflugers Arch 472(7):931–951
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Isom, L.L., Patino, G.A., Yuan, Y., Lopez-Santiago, L. (2021). Voltage-Gated Ion Channels. In: Pfaff, D.W., Volkow, N.D., Rubenstein, J. (eds) Neuroscience in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6434-1_3-4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6434-1_3-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6434-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6434-1
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences