Bacterial Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels (BacNaVs) from the Soil, Sea, and Salt Lakes Enlighten Molecular Mechanisms of Electrical Signaling and Pharmacology in the Brain and Heart

Voltage-gated sodium channels (NaVs) provide the initial electrical signal that drives action potential generation in many excitable cells of the brain, heart, and nervous system. For more than 60years, functional studies of NaVs have occupied a central place in physiological and biophysical investi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of molecular biology Vol. 427; no. 1; pp. 3 - 30
Main Authors Payandeh, Jian, Minor, Daniel L.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 16.01.2015
Subjects
channel gating
channel pharmacology
ion permeation
structural biology
voltage-gated sodium channel
VGIC
VSD
voltage-gated sodium channel
ion permeation
channel pharmacology
CTD
VSP
TRP
SF
CTC
PD
MD
HCS
structural biology
channel gating
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Voltage-gated sodium channels (NaVs) provide the initial electrical signal that drives action potential generation in many excitable cells of the brain, heart, and nervous system. For more than 60years, functional studies of NaVs have occupied a central place in physiological and biophysical investigation of the molecular basis of excitability. Recently, structural studies of members of a large family of bacterial voltage-gated sodium channels (BacNaVs) prevalent in soil, marine, and salt lake environments that bear many of the core features of eukaryotic NaVs have reframed ideas for voltage-gated channel function, ion selectivity, and pharmacology. Here, we analyze the recent advances, unanswered questions, and potential of BacNaVs as templates for drug development efforts. [Display omitted] •Bacterial sodium channels (BacNaVs) offer unprecedented structural insights into voltage-gated ion channel function.•BacNaV structures reveal the details of sodium and calcium-selective pores.•BacNaV structures offer plausible models to understand the action of drugs.
ISSN:0022-2836
1089-8638
DOI:10.1016/j.jmb.2014.08.010