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Voltage-gated ion channels

A new twist to increase ion flow

Nature Chemical Biology (2024)Cite this article

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The K+ ion channel KCNQ2 modulates neuronal excitability and is targeted by retigabine, an anti-epileptic drug that enhances the probability of channel opening. New activators have now been discovered to increase unitary conductance through an unprecedented mechanism.

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Fig. 1: RTG and Ebio1 activate KCNQ2 through distinct mechanisms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemical Cellular Pharmacology, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, USA

    Jun Chen

  2. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Michael C. Sanguinetti

Authors
  1. Jun Chen
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  2. Michael C. Sanguinetti
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Correspondence to Jun Chen or Michael C. Sanguinetti.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Chen, J., Sanguinetti, M.C. A new twist to increase ion flow. Nat Chem Biol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-023-01523-y

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