The activity of voltage-gated sodium channels has long been linked to disorders of neuronal excitability such as epilepsy and chronic pain. Recent genetic studies have now expanded the role of sodium channels in health and disease, to include autism, migraine, multiple sclerosis, cancer as well as muscle and immune system disorders. Transgenic mouse models have proved useful in understanding th...

been given different names, so that there are multiple Sodium Channels synonyms for many of sodium channel isoforms. To eliminate confusion resulting from the multiplicity of names, we propose a standardized nomenclature for Voltage-gated sodium channels are critical elements of voltage-gated sodium channels (Table 1). This nomen-action potential initiation and propagation in excitable clature ...

The action of neurotoxins on tetrodotoxin-insensitive sodium channels in cultured rat muscle cells has been studied by ion flux methods. The alkaloid neurotoxins batrachotoxin, veratridine, and aconitine act at a common receptor site to cause persistent activation of sodium channels. Batrachotoxin is a full agonist, while veratridine and aconitine are partial agonists activating 8% and 1% of so...

Pain pathways begin with spinal sensory (dorsal root ganglion, DRG) neurons that produce nociceptive signals and convey them centrally. Following injury to the nervous system, DRG neurons can become hyperexcitable, generating spontaneous action potentials or abnormal high-frequency activity that contributes to chronic pain. Because the generation of action potentials in DRG neurons depends on v...

Deltamethrin, a pyrethroid insecticide, and BTG 502, an alkylamide insecticide, target voltage-gated sodium channels. Deltamethrin binds to a unique receptor site and causes prolonged opening of sodium channels by inhibiting deactivation and inactivation. Previous (22)Na(+) influx and receptor binding assays using mouse brain synaptoneurosomes showed that BTG 502 antagonized the binding and act...

The development of pulmonary edema can be considered as a combination of alveolar flooding via increased fluid filtration, impaired alveolar-capillary barrier integrity, and disturbed resolution due to decreased alveolar fluid clearance. An important mechanism regulating alveolar fluid clearance is sodium transport across the alveolar epithelium. Transepithelial sodium transport is largely depe...

Voltage-gated sodium channels are essential for electrical signalling across cell membranes. They exhibit strong selectivities for sodium ions over other cations, enabling the finely tuned cascade of events associated with action potentials. This paper describes the ion permeability characteristics and the crystal structure of a prokaryotic sodium channel, showing for the first time the detaile...

β subunits of mammalian sodium channels play important roles in modulating the expression and gating of mammalian sodium channels. However, there are no orthologs of β subunits in insects. Instead, an unrelated protein, TipE in Drosophila melanogaster and its orthologs in other insects, is thought to be a sodium channel auxiliary subunit. In addition, there are four TipE-homologous genes (TEH1-...

Because of their fundamental role in generating electrical impulses in many excitable tissues, sodium channels were among the first voltage-gated ion channels to be extensively investigated. Neurons bathed in a physiological solution containing 150 mM sodium ions respond to a threshold electrical stimulus by generating an action potential, whereas such a response is abolished in a Na+-free medi...

The retinal network increases its sensitivity in low-light conditions to detect small visual inputs and decreases its sensitivity in bright-light conditions to prevent saturation. However, the cellular mechanisms that adjust visual signaling in the retinal network are not known. Here, we show that voltage-gated sodium channels in bipolar cells dynamically control retinal light sensitivity. In d...