Voltage-gated Ion Channels

Voltage-gated ion channels are transmembrane ion channels that are activated by changes in electrical potential difference in the cell membrane. They have a crucial role in excitable neuronal and muscle tissues, allowing a rapid and co-ordinated depolarisation.

Voltage-gated sodium channels are responsible for the initial upstroke of the action potential. The SCN5A (Nav1.5) channel is primarily found in cardiac myocytes.

Voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC) are a group of voltage-gated ion channels found in excitable cells (e.g., muscle, glial cells, neurons, etc.) with a permeability to the ion Ca2+. Activation of specific VDCCs allows Ca2+ ions to enter the cell, which results in muscles to muscular contraction , in neurons change of membrane potential and therefore neuronal excitability.

Voltage-gated potassium channels play a crucial role during action potential in returning the depolarized cell to a resting state. In excitable cells such as neurons , they shape action potentials and set the resting membrane potential . By contributing to the regulation of the action potential duration in cardiac muscle , malfunction of potassium channels may cause life-threatening arrhythmias and the KCNQ channels which can form heteromers, such as KCNQ2/3 and KCNQ3/5, may be responsible for BNFC (beneign neonatal familial convulsions).

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Antibodies for Voltage-gated Ion Channels