title: The cyclic nucleotide gated channel of olfactory receptor neurons.
abstract: Olfactory transduction proceeds through a G-protein coupled cascade that produces the ubiquitous second messenger cyclic AMP. The cyclic AMP causes a change in membrane potential by acting directly on an ion channel that allows cations to flow into the cell. This ion channel is one of a new family of ion channels that are activated by intracellular cyclic nucleotides. However, even though they are activated by binding a ligand their amino acid structure shows that they share a common ancestry with voltage activated channels, especially voltage dependent Ca2+ channels. In olfactory neurons these channels perform a critical role in the transduction of chemical information in the environment into changes in membrane electrical properties that are transmitted to higher order processing centers in the brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Firestein
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zufall
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D002413:Cations, Divalent / Q000378:metabolism; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism*; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000378:metabolism*; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008959:Models, Neurological; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D015290:Second Messenger Systems / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D002413:Cations, Divalent; D007473:Ion Channels; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D006152:Cyclic GMP