title: Biophysical Adaptations of Prokaryotic Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels.
abstract: This chapter describes the adaptive features found in voltage-gated sodium channels (NaVs) of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. These two families are distinct, having diverged early in evolutionary history but maintain a surprising degree of convergence in function. While prokaryotic NaVs are required for growth and motility, eukaryotic NaVs selectively conduct fast electrical currents for short- and long-range signaling across cell membranes in mammalian organs. Current interest in prokaryotic NaVs is stoked by their resolved high-resolution structures and functional features which are reminiscent of eukaryotic NaVs. In this chapter, comparisons between eukaryotic and prokaryotic NaVs are made to highlight the shared and unique aspects of ion selectivity, voltage sensitivity, and pharmacology. Examples of prokaryotic and eukaryotic NaV convergent evolution will be discussed within the context of their structural features.
authors: Tufts University, Boston, MA, United States.
authors: T N
authors: TN
authors: Vien
authors: Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States.
authors: P G
authors: PG
authors: DeCaen
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D011387:Prokaryotic Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism; D061567:Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D061566:Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D061567:Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers; D061566:Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels; D012964:Sodium
keywords: Adaptations; Bacteria; Ion channel pharmacology; Selectivity; Sodium channel; Voltage sensing