Chanelopathies Flashcards
What plays the biggest role in maintaining ion concentration?
NaK ATPase (2K in 3Na out)
Ionic concentration @ rest
in/out Na high/low K low/high Ca lowlowlow/high Cl low/high
Ion channel families separated based on
cloning of similar genes & selective permeability to ions
Types of ion channel families
1) Resting K+ channel (always open)
2) v-gated channel
3) ligand-gated channel
4) signal-gated channel (open in response to a specific INTRACELLULAR molecule)
@ rest
- 70mV
- K high inside
- K channel leaks K out
@ depol
-45mV
-Na high outside-
-Na enters via v-gated Na channel due to depol
=> Na channel encode fast AP spike
@ hyperpol
-75mV
-Cl high outside
-Cl enter via Cl channel leading to hyperpol
=> reduces excitability
-30mV
- Ca very low inside
- Ca channel open allowing Ca to enter cell when depoled leading to coupling of excitability to other cellular processes e.g. NT release, muscle contraction, gene synthesis, cell death
-60mV
- Non selective cation channels mediate depol that drive cell spiking
- Cardiac pacemaker cells, rod cells and neurons have hyperpol-activated cation channels gated by nucleotides and Vm
- Some NT receptors are non-selective + channels
AP timeline
@rest K open @threshold v-gated Na channel open (Na influx) @depol v-gated Na channel close after hitting equilibrium (AP peak) @repol K channel open (K outflux) @hyperpol K channel close after hitting equilibrium (hyperpol pealk) @afterwards NaK ATPase restores RMP
Ligand gated ion channels convert chemical signal to electrical signal within
ms
Synapses of the brain
60% excitatory, rest inhibitory
30% or more of brain E demand
20% of body E is used by brain
Location of channels
-Na channel Dendrites, axon hillock, node of ranvier, soma -K channel NOR, dendrites, axon terminal, soma -Cl channel Inhibitory dendrites, soma -Ca channel Soma, dendrite, axon terminal -Cation Channels Dendrites, soma, terminal, internal organelles
Receptor trafficking
-Receptor delivery, recycling and diffusion (moving to its location) seems complex and details are not well understood
-Most likely the receptors are all made in the dendrites and delivered to the surface or axons etc
1 channel get made by ribosomes into ER
2 get matured in golgi
3 into secretory vesicles
4 Diffuse to synapse
5 Kick/moved out back inside by clathrin
Squid Giant Axon Size
Human axon diameter 2 um
Squid giant axon almost 1mm
Squid Giant Axon Findings
#1 Na dependence of AP Reducing the Na content of the extracellular medium made AP smaller and rise slower, which was regained when Na was put back #2 Action potential is a wave Thanks to fast Na channel opening followed by slow K channel opening
Na channels structure
1 gene, 4-fold segments
S4 segment have the v-sensitive domain
Eukaryotic NaV channel is structurally more complex than bacterial as for bacterial, 4 segments are the same
K channel structure
Tetramers made of 3 same parts
Ca channel structure
4 fold domains
Without Ca channel, no AP
Recording characteristics
1)Rhythmic firing
Small injection of current => slow rhythmic firing
High injection of current => high rhythmic firing (spike right after absolute refractory period)
2)Spike Trains
-Dynamic stimulus cause more clear on and off of firing times
-CNS can signal by spike or by absence of spike not by flat stimulus
-Even a signal of single neuron is so complicated & subtle yet dynamic
-Precise timing is the key for this dynamic activity
3) Cortical States
When asleep clear on/off phase of firing, when awake constantly firing in the cortex
Summary of receptors
- Selective ionic currents through membranes underlie fast (electric) signalling between excitable cells.
- The action potential is a traveling wave of excitability in all higher organisms
- Spikes encode digital information not the event itself
- Timing and density of channels is critical
What is channelopathy?
- A defect in an ion channel that leads to a diseaseCommonly due to impeded, damaged or less selected ion permeation
- > 300 human genes encode channels
- Provides insight to basic disease mechanisms
- Wide genome coverage => huge penetration (defect is big)
- Best case scenario, by understanding the mechanism, there could be a finding where already approved drugs can be applied to other diseases
example of channelopathies
Wide study in peripheral tissues
1) Long QT syndromeArrhythmic heartbeat which have a potential to cause syncope (fainting), seizures or sudden death. Only find out after working out or change in heartbeat, as otherwise it is symptom less.Very well studied and understood because heart is easy
2) Diabetes
3) Congenital MyastheniaDue to defect in various channelsVery well studied and understood because muscle is easy
Complexity of channelopathy in the CNS/brain
- Brain is like an non-conducted orchestra; play together without a lead
- It affects so many disease: epileptology,movement disorders(epilepsy: mutation in SCN1a),headache/migraine,peripheral nerves, pain,myology
- Combinations of defect can be non linear (e.g. severe*mild = healthy)
- Sanger sequencing (DNA sequencing) does not help as healthy and disease patients may have equal amounts of mutations