The art of dissecting the function of a potassium channel.
The essential function of potassium channels is to selectively facilitate the passage of K(+) ions across the cell membrane by lowering the energy barrier that opposes this process. In this issue of Neuron, Chatelain et al. report the results from an elegant study that sheds new light on the microscopic factors that modulate the function of these important membrane channels.
Roux
Benoît
B
Physiology Department, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021, USA.
D000818:Animals; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*
D015221:Potassium Channels