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KCNMB2
Calcium-activated potassium channel subunit beta-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KCNMB2'' gene. Big Potassium (BK) channels are large conductance, voltage and calcium-sensitive potassium channels which are fundamental to the control of smooth muscle tone and neuronal excitability. BK channels can contain two distinct subunits: a pore-forming alpha subunit and a modulatory beta subunit. Each complete BK channel contains four copies of the pore-forming alpha subunit and up to four beta subunits. The protein encoded by the KCNMB2 gene is an auxiliary beta subunit which influences the calcium sensitivity of BK currents and, following activation of BK current, causes persistent inactivation. The subunit encoded by the KCNMB2 gene is expressed in various endocrine cells, including pancreas and adrenal chromaffin cells. It is also found in the brain, including the hippocampus. The KCNMB2 gene is homologous to three other genes found in mammalian genomes: KCNMB1 (found p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BK Channel
BK channels (big potassium), are large conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, also known as Maxi-K, slo1, or Kca1.1. BK channels are voltage-gated potassium channels that conduct large amounts of potassium ions (K+) across the cell membrane, hence their name, ''big potassium''. These channels can be activated (opened) by either electrical means, or by increasing Calcium in biology, Ca2+ concentrations in the cell. BK channels help regulate physiological processes, such as Circadian rhythm, circadian behavioral rhythms and neuronal excitability. BK channels are also involved in many processes in the body, as it is a ubiquitous channel. They have a tetrameric structure that is composed of a transmembrane domain, voltage sensing domain, potassium channel domain, and a cytoplasmic C-terminal domain, with many X-ray structures for reference. Their function is to repolarize the membrane potential by allowing for potassium to flow outward, in response to a depolarization ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ball And Chain Inactivation
In neuroscience, ball and chain inactivation is a model to explain the fast inactivation mechanism of voltage-gated ion channels. The process is also called hinged-lid inactivation or N-type inactivation. A voltage-gated ion channel can be in three states: open, closed, or inactivated. The inactivated state is mainly achieved through fast inactivation, by which a channel transitions rapidly from an open to an inactivated state. The model proposes that the inactivated state, which is stable and non-conducting, is caused by the physical blockage of the pore. The blockage is caused by a "ball" of amino acids connected to the main protein by a string of residues on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. The ball enters the open channel and binds to the hydrophobic inner vestibule within the channel. This blockage causes inactivation of the channel by stopping the flow of ions. This phenomenon has mainly been studied in potassium channels and sodium channels. Discovery Electrophysiolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N-terminus
The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the amine group is bonded to the carboxylic group of another amino acid, making it a chain. That leaves a free carboxylic group at one end of the peptide, called the C-terminus, and a free amine group on the other end called the N-terminus. By convention, peptide sequences are written N-terminus to C-terminus, left to right (in LTR writing systems). This correlates the translation direction to the text direction, because when a protein is translated from messenger RNA, it is created from the N-terminus to the C-terminus, as amino acids are added to the carboxyl end of the protein. Chemistry Each amino acid has an amine group and a carboxylic group. Amino acids link to one another by peptide bonds which form through a dehydration reaction that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, providing structure to cells and organisms, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific 3D structure that determines its activity. A linear chain of amino acid residues is called a polypeptide. A protein contains at least one long polypeptide. Short polypeptides, containing less than 20–30 residues, are rarely considered to be proteins and are commonly called peptides. The individual amino acid residues are bonded together by peptide bonds and adjacent amino acid residues. The sequence of amino acid residue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity and the molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and noncoding genes. During gene expression, the DNA is first copied into RNA. The RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for a protein that performs a function. The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits. These genes make up different DNA sequences called genotypes. Genotypes along with environmental and developmental factors determine what the phenotypes will be. Most biological traits are under the influence of polygenes (many different genes) as well as gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Potassium Channel
Potassium channels are the most widely distributed type of ion channel found in virtually all organisms. They form potassium-selective pores that span cell membranes. Potassium channels are found in most cell types and control a wide variety of cell functions. Function Potassium channels function to conduct potassium ions down their electrochemical gradient, doing so both rapidly (up to the diffusion rate of K+ ions in bulk water) and selectively (excluding, most notably, sodium despite the sub-angstrom difference in ionic radius). Biologically, these channels act to set or reset the resting potential in many cells. In excitable cells, such as neurons, the delayed counterflow of potassium ions shapes the action potential. By contributing to the regulation of the cardiac action potential duration in cardiac muscle, malfunction of potassium channels may cause life-threatening arrhythmias. Potassium channels may also be involved in maintaining vascular tone. They also regulate ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KCNMB1
Calcium-activated potassium channel subunit beta-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KCNMB1'' gene. Function MaxiK channels are large conductance, voltage and calcium-sensitive potassium channels which are fundamental to the control of smooth muscle tone and neuronal excitability. MaxiK channels can be formed by 2 subunits: the pore-forming alpha subunit and the product of this gene, the modulatory beta subunit. Intracellular calcium regulates the physical association between the alpha and beta subunits. Beta subunits (beta 1-4) are highly tissue specific in their expression, with beta-1 being present predominantly on vascular smooth muscle. Endothelial cells are not known to express beta-1 subunits. Beta-1 is also known to be expressed in urinary bladder and in some regions of the brain. Association of the beta-1 subunit with the BK channel increases the apparent Ca2+ sensitivity of the channel and decreases voltage dependence. See also * BK channel * Voltage-g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KCNMB3
Calcium-activated potassium channel subunit beta-3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KCNMB3'' gene. MaxiK channels are large conductance, voltage and calcium-sensitive potassium channels which are fundamental to the control of smooth muscle tone and neuronal excitability. MaxiK channels can be formed by 2 subunits: the pore-forming alpha subunit and the modulatory beta subunit. The protein encoded by this gene is an auxiliary beta subunit which may partially inactivate or slightly decrease the activation time of MaxiK alpha subunit currents. At least four transcript variants encoding four different isoforms have been found for this gene. See also * BK channel BK channels (big potassium), are large conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, also known as Maxi-K, slo1, or Kca1.1. BK channels are voltage-gated potassium channels that conduct large amounts of potassium ions (K+) across the ce ... * Voltage-gated potassium channel References Further rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KCNMB4
Calcium-activated potassium channel subunit beta-4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KCNMB4'' gene. MaxiK channels are large conductance, voltage and calcium-sensitive potassium channels which are fundamental to the control of smooth muscle tone and neuronal excitability. MaxiK channels can be formed by 2 subunits: the pore-forming alpha subunit and the modulatory beta subunit. The protein encoded by this gene is an auxiliary beta subunit which slows activation kinetics, leads to steeper calcium sensitivity, and shifts the voltage range of current activation to more negative potentials than does the beta 1 subunit. See also * BK channel BK channels (big potassium), are large conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, also known as Maxi-K, slo1, or Kca1.1. BK channels are voltage-gated potassium channels that conduct large amounts of potassium ions (K+) across the ce ... * Voltage-gated potassium channel References Further reading * * * * * * * * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein Domains
In molecular biology, a protein domain is a region of a protein's polypeptide chain that is self-stabilizing and that folds independently from the rest. Each domain forms a compact folded three-dimensional structure. Many proteins consist of several domains, and a domain may appear in a variety of different proteins. Molecular evolution uses domains as building blocks and these may be recombined in different arrangements to create proteins with different functions. In general, domains vary in length from between about 50 amino acids up to 250 amino acids in length. The shortest domains, such as zinc fingers, are stabilized by metal ions or disulfide bridges. Domains often form functional units, such as the calcium-binding EF hand domain of calmodulin. Because they are independently stable, domains can be "swapped" by genetic engineering between one protein and another to make chimeric proteins. Background The concept of the domain was first proposed in 1973 by Wetlaufer after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N-terminal
The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the amine group is bonded to the carboxylic group of another amino acid, making it a chain. That leaves a free carboxylic group at one end of the peptide, called the C-terminus, and a free amine group on the other end called the N-terminus. By convention, peptide sequences are written N-terminus to C-terminus, left to right (in LTR writing systems). This correlates the translation direction to the text direction, because when a protein is translated from messenger RNA, it is created from the N-terminus to the C-terminus, as amino acids are added to the carboxyl end of the protein. Chemistry Each amino acid has an amine group and a carboxylic group. Amino acids link to one another by peptide bonds which form through a dehydration reaction that j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cytoplasmic
In cell biology, the cytoplasm is all of the material within a eukaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, except for the cell nucleus. The material inside the nucleus and contained within the nuclear membrane is termed the nucleoplasm. The main components of the cytoplasm are cytosol (a gel-like substance), the organelles (the cell's internal sub-structures), and various cytoplasmic inclusions. The cytoplasm is about 80% water and is usually colorless. The submicroscopic ground cell substance or cytoplasmic matrix which remains after exclusion of the cell organelles and particles is groundplasm. It is the hyaloplasm of light microscopy, a highly complex, polyphasic system in which all resolvable cytoplasmic elements are suspended, including the larger organelles such as the ribosomes, mitochondria, the plant plastids, lipid droplets, and vacuoles. Most cellular activities take place within the cytoplasm, such as many metabolic pathways including glycolysis, and p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
