title: Short note: are electron-transport and electron-transfer involved in intracellular signaling?
abstract: In this paper, the possibility of electron-transfer and subsequent electron transport across membrane proteins (ion channels) is studied with respect to the ion channel function. The electronic properties of the ionic channel protein interface with the electrolytes, and the properties of the same ion channel protein as a solid-state biopolymer are used as the physical basis to explain these elementary charge transport phenomena. It is proposed that, by means of the occurrence of those two processes, there can be electrons participating in the activation of the G-proteins and subsequent intracellular signaling. As another example, the same analysis is used to propose the involvement of electrons in the neuromodulation of the ionic channels.
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cavelier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004579:Electron Transport; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000502:physiology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins