Ion channels in the nervous system articles within Nature

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  • Article |

    Ion channels in bacterial biofilms are shown to conduct long-range electrical signals within the biofilm community through the propagation of potassium ions; as predicted by a simple mathematical model, potassium channel gating is shown to coordinate metabolic states between distant cells via electrical communication.

    • Arthur Prindle
    • , Jintao Liu
    •  & Gürol M. Süel

  • Letter |

    Mice lacking the mechanically activated ion channel Piezo2 in both sensory neurons and Merkel cells are almost totally incapable of light-touch sensation while other somatosensory functions, such as mechanical nociception, remain intact, implying that other mechanically activated ion channels must now be identified to account for painful touch sensation.

    • Sanjeev S. Ranade
    • , Seung-Hyun Woo
    •  & Ardem Patapoutian

  • Article |

    Cryo-electron microscopy is used to visualize the AMPA receptor GluA2 and the kainate receptor GluK2 in several functional states — having access to so many different structural states has enabled the authors to propose a molecular model for the gating cycle of glutamate receptors.

    • Joel R. Meyerson
    • , Janesh Kumar
    •  & Sriram Subramaniam

  • Article |

    X-ray crystal structures are presented of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, a calcium-permeable ion channel that opens upon binding of glutamate and glycine; glutamate is a key excitatory neurotransmitter and enhanced structural insight of this receptor may aid development of therapeutic small molecules.

    • Chia-Hsueh Lee
    • , Wei Lü
    •  & Eric Gouaux

  • Letter |

    Mechanotransduction channels studied to date are mainly involved with sensing noxious mechanical stimuli; here NOMPC, a member of the TRP ion channel family, is identified as a pore-forming subunit of an ion channel essential to the sensation of gentle touch in Drosophila.

    • Zhiqiang Yan
    • , Wei Zhang
    •  & Yuh Nung Jan

  • Letter |

    The crystal structure of NavRh, a NaChBac orthologue from the marine Rickettsiales sp. HIMB114, defines an ion binding site within the selectivity filter, and reveals several conformational rearrangements that may underlie the electromechanical coupling mechanism.

    • Xu Zhang
    • , Wenlin Ren
    •  & Nieng Yan

  • Letter |

    The voltage-gated calcium channel protein subunit α2δ is shown to control both the abundance of voltage-gated calcium channels and their coupling to the vesicular release of neurotransmitters into the synapse; because the α2δ family is a known target of potent analgesics, this study offers a new link between basic synaptic physiology and pain research in the clinic.

    • Michael B. Hoppa
    • , Beatrice Lana
    •  & Timothy A. Ryan

  • Letter |

    GABAB receptors are the G-protein-coupled receptors for γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Here, functional proteomics is used to show that GABAB receptors in the brain are complexes of GABAB1, GABAB2 and members of a subfamily of KCTD proteins. The KCTD proteins increase the potency of agonists and markedly alter the G-protein signalling of the receptors, suggesting that they determine the pharmacology and kinetics of the receptor response.

    • Jochen Schwenk
    • , Michaela Metz
    •  & Bernhard Bettler

  • Article |

    Snakes are notoriously apt at generating 'thermal images' of predators or prey. The underlying physiology has been unclear, although in snakes such as pythons, vipers and boas, infrared signals are initially received by the pit organ. Here it is shown that pit-bearing snakes rely on heat detection by the ion channel TRPA1. This extends the sensory repertoire of the TRPA1 family of proteins, which detect chemical irritants in mammals and thermal variations in insects.

    • Elena O. Gracheva
    • , Nicholas T. Ingolia
    •  & David Julius

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