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XB-ART-9141
Nat Neurosci 2001 May 01;45:486-91. doi: 10.1038/87434.
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KCNK2: reversible conversion of a hippocampal potassium leak into a voltage-dependent channel.

Bockenhauer D , Zilberberg N , Goldstein SA .


Abstract
Potassium leak channels are essential to neurophysiological function. Leaks suppress excitability through maintenance of resting membrane potential below the threshold for action potential firing. Conversely, voltage-dependent potassium channels permit excitation because they do not interfere with rise to threshold, and they actively promote recovery and rapid re-firing. Previously attributed to distinct transport pathways, we demonstrate here that phosphorylation of single, native hippocampal and cloned KCNK2 potassium channels produces reversible interconversion between leak and voltage-dependent phenotypes. The findings reveal a pathway for dynamic regulation of excitability.

PubMed ID: 11319556
Article link: Nat Neurosci


Species referenced: Xenopus laevis
Genes referenced: kcnk2

References :
Maylie, Beam me up, Scottie! TREK channels swing both ways. 2001, Pubmed