Should they team up to make your brain clock?
Large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (BK channels) are important regulators of neuronal excitability in the mammalian nervous system. BK channels are activated by changes in membrane electrical potential and intracellular calcium concentration and play a key role in shaping neuronal action potential. Indeed, under typical physiological conditions, opening of BK channels allows potassium ions to flow outside of the cell leading to membrane repolarization and fast afterhyperpolarization, thus controlling cellular excitability. These aspects are of direct relevance to a new study by Farajnia et al., 2015, reported in this issue of Neurobiology of Aging, on the role of BK channels in aging circadian clock neurons.
Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Prague, Czech Republic. Electronic address: weiss@uochb.cas.cz.
Norbert
N
Weiss
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D057906:Circadian Clocks / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism; D013493:Suprachiasmatic Nucleus / Q000502:physiology
D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; D011188:Potassium; D002118:Calcium
Aging; BK channel; Calcium channel; Circadian rhythm; Potassium channel; SCN neuron; T-type channel