Endothelial cells (EC) form a unique signal-transducing surface in the vascular system. The abundance of ion channels in the plasma membrane of these nonexcitable cells has raised questions about their functional role. This review presents evidence for the involvement of ion channels in endothelial cell functions controlled by intracellular Ca(2+) signals, such as the production and release of ...

The mechanism of selectivity in ion channels is still an open question in biology for more than half a century. Here, we suggest that quantum interference can be a solution to explain the selectivity mechanism in ion channels since interference happens between similar ions through the same size of ion channels. In this paper, we simulate two neighboring ion channels on a cell membrane with the ...

ATP-gated P2X receptors and acid-sensing ion channels are two distinct ligand-gated ion channels that assemble into trimers. They are involved in many important physiological functions such as pain sensation and are recognized as important therapeutic targets. They have unrelated primary structures and respond to different ligands (ATP and protons) and are thus considered as two different ion c...

Behavioral output of neural networks depends on a delicate balance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic connections. However, it is not known whether network formation and stability is constrained by the sign of synaptic connections between neurons within the network. Here we show that switching the sign of a synapse within a neural circuit can reverse the behavioral output. The inhibitor...

Ion channels (IC) are ion-permeable protein pores located in the lipid membranes of all cells. Different ion channels have unique functions in different biological processes. Due to the rapid development of high-throughput mass spectrometry, proteomic data are rapidly accumulating and provide us an opportunity to systematically investigate and predict ion channels and their types. In this paper...

Mutations in cardiac ion channels and their auxiliary subunits can lead to life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. In recent years it has become apparent that ion channels are part of large, multi-protein complexes, comprising not only the ion channels and their auxiliary subunits, but also components of the cytoskeleton, regulatory kinases and phosphatases, trafficking proteins, extracellular ma...

Ion channels establish and regulate membrane potentials in excitable and non-excitable cells. How functional diversification of ion channels contributed to the evolution of nervous systems may be understood by studying organisms at key positions in the evolution of animal multicellularity. We have carried out the first analysis of ion channels cloned from a marine sponge, Amphimedon queenslandi...

J on channels are pore-forming macromolecules that provide a passive conduit for ion transfer across membranes. Although simple ionophores such as gramicidin and nystatin' fall within this legalistic definition, the ion channels of eukaryotic cells are integral membrane proteins, many of which have now been isolated biochemically, reconstituted, cloned, and expressed. These fascinating proteins...