News and Views
Nature Cell Biology 2, E165 - E167 (2000)
doi:10.1038/35023646
Heartfelt crosstalk: desensitization of the GIRK current
- Lily Yeh Jan and Yuh Nung Jan are at Howard Hughes Medical School and in the Departments of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143-0725, USA. e-mail: gkw@itsa.ucsf.edu
Abstract
Acetylcholine calms the heartbeat by activating Gi-coupled receptors and G-protein-activated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels. It also dampens the GIRK current by reducing PIP2 through Gq-coupled receptors. These two types of receptors seem to be engaged in an intriguingly specific form of crosstalk, which leads to desensitization of the GIRK current.
