From Ion Channels To Cell To Cell Conversations

Ion channels allow us to see nature in all its magnificence, to hear a Bach suite, to smell the aroma of grandmother's cooking, and, in this regard, they put us in contact with the external world. These ion channels are protein molecules located in the cell membrane. In complex organisms, cells need to communicate in order to know about their metabolic status and to act in a coordinate manner. The latter is also accomplished by a class of ion channels able to pierce the lipid bilayer membranes of two adjacent cells. These intercellular channels are the functional subunits of gap junctions. Accordingly, the book is divided in two parts: the first part is dedicated to ion channels that look to the external world, and the second part is dedicated to gap junctions found at cell interfaces. This book is based on a series of symposia for a meeting on ion channels and gap junctions held in Santiago, Chile, on November 28-30, 1995. The book should be useful to graduate students taking the first steps in this field as well as a reference for the aficionado. The aim of the meeting was mainly to show the impact of various modern techniques, including cell biology, molecular biology, biophysics, and molecular genetics techniques in the study of these ubiquitous intrinsic membrane proteins. Molecular-genetics techniques paved the road to the manipulation of the channel forming molecules.

This book is a compilation of articles based on some of the talks given at the Centro de Estudios Cientificos (CECS) in Valdivia during the course of a celebration to th mark the 60 birthdays of Ramon Latorre and Enrico Stefani. Ramon Latorre is one of the most outstanding figures in channel Biophysics today. The first surprise is that he trained as a Biochemist! He soon, however, became a biophysicist through his work with Guayo (Eduardo) Rojas who guided him during his Ph. D thesis in the Laboratorio de Fisiologia Celular in Montemar. His work at N.I.H with Gerald Eherenstein and Harold Lecar constitutes one of the milestones of single ion channel Biophysics. This classical work, done in planar bilayers, set the basis for understanding voltage-dependent conductances with single channel studies and predates, by many years, later studies using patch clamping techniques. Ramon was one of the firsts to find and recognize the importance of calci- activated potassium channels and to begin a detailed study of channel properties. He pioneered the ideas of voltage and calcium modulation of the open probability and he added detailed studies of gating and its modulation by other ions. Ramon is also interested in permeation and selectivity and he produced classical studies on the number of water molecules in the channel and sites occupied by barium. Results and concepts that have recently taken front page as the structure of KcSa has been described.

Cell Volume Regulation and Fluid Secretion, Volume 81, the latest release in the Current Topics in Membranes series highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on General principles of cell volume regulation, Cell volume maintenance: water and salt homeostasis, The search for ubiquitous cell volume sensor: the role of plasma membrane and cytoplasmic hydrogel, More than membranes, Cellular and membrane biomechanics of CVR response, Molecular identities of volume-regulatory anion channels, Molecular biology and physiology of volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC), the Role of WNKs in the modulation of intracellular chloride, amongst other topics. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in the Current Topics in Membranes series Includes the latest information on Cell Volume Regulation

Voltage-sensitive ion channels are macromolecules embedded in the membranes of nerve and muscle fibers of animals. Despite decades of intensive research under the traditional approach of gated structural pores, the relation between the structure of these molecules and their function remains enigmatic. This book examines physically oriented approaches not covered in other ion-channel books, and it develops a new physics-based approach to the problem of molecular excitability.

The maturation of nanotechnology has revealed it to be a unique and distinct discipline rather than a specialization within a larger field. Its textbook cannot afford to be a chemistry, physics, or engineering text focused on nano. It must be an integrated, multidisciplinary, and specifically nano textbook. The archetype of the modern nano textbook

Since the first gap junction protein (connexin) was cloned over a decade ago, more than a dozen connexin genes have been cloned. Consequently, a wealth of information on the molecular basis of gap junctional communication has been accumulated. This book pays tribute to this exciting era in the history of cell communication research by documenting the great strides made in this field as a result of the merging of biophysics and molecular biology, two of the most powerful approaches to studying the molecular basis of membrane channel behavior. Twenty-eight comprehensive chapters, authored by internationally recognized leaders in the field, discuss the biophysical, physiological, and molecular characteristics of cell-to-cell communication via gap junctions. Key aspects of molecular structure, formation, gating, conductance, and permeability of vertebrate and invertebrate gap junction channels are highlighted. In addition, a number of chapters focus on recent discoveries that implicate connexin mutations and alterations of gap junctional communication in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including the X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth demyelinating disease, some forms of inherited sensorineural deafness, malignant transformation, cardiac malformations and arrhythmia, eye lens cataract, and Chagas disease.

Tomorrow's nanoscientist will have a truly interdisciplinary and nano-centric education, rather than, for example, a degree in chemistry with a specialization in nanoscience. For this to happen, the field needs a truly focused and dedicated textbook. This full-color masterwork is such a textbook. It introduces the nanoscale along with the societal