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org/wiki/Sodium_channel
Sodium channel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sodium channels are integral membrane proteins that form ion channels, conducting sodium ions (Na
+
)
through a cell's plasma membrane.
!"#"
$hey are classified according to the trigger that opens the channel for
such ions, i.e. either a %oltage&change ('(oltage gated', '%oltage sensiti%e' or '%oltage dependant' sodium
channel also called '()S*s' or 'Na% channel') or binding of a substance (aligand) to the channel (ligand&gated
sodium channels).
+n e,citable cells such as neurons, myocytes, and certain types of glia, sodium channels are responsible for the
rising phase of action potentials.
Contents
[hide]
1 Voltage-gated
o 1.1 Structure
o 1.2 Gating
1.2.1 Modeling the Behavior of Gates
o 1.3 Imermea!ilit" to other ions
o 1.# $iversit"
1.#.1 %lha su!units
1.#.2 Beta su!units
1.#.3 &ole of !eta su!units as cell adhesion
molecules
2 'igand-gated
3 &ole in action otential
# (harmacologic modulation
o #.1 Bloc)ers
o #.2 %ctivators
o #.3 Gating modifiers
* See also
+ &eferences
, -.ternal lin)s
(oltage&gatededit"
Structureedit"
-iagram of a %oltage&sensiti%e sodium channel .&subunit. ) / glycosylation, 0 / phosphorylation, S / ion selecti%ity, + /
inacti%ation. 0ositi%e (+) charges in S1 are important for transmembrane %oltage sensing.
2"
Sodium channels consist of a large . subunit that associates 3ith other proteins, such as 4 subunits. 5n .
subunit forms the core of the channel and is functional on its o3n. When the . subunit protein is e,pressed by
a cell, it is able to form channels that conduct Na
+
in a %oltage&gated 3ay, e%en if 4 subunits or other kno3n
modulating proteins are not e,pressed. When accessory proteins assemble 3ith . subunits, the resulting
comple, can display altered %oltage dependence and cellular locali6ation.
$he .&subunit has four repeat domains, labeled + through +(, each containing si, membrane&spanning
segments, labeled S! through S7. $he highly conser%ed S1 segment acts as the channel's %oltage sensor. $he
%oltage sensiti%ity of this channel is due to positi%e amino acids located at e%ery fourth position. When
stimulated by a change in transmembrane %oltage, this segment mo%es to3ard the e,tracellular side of the cell
membrane, allo3ing the channel to become permeable to ions. $he ions are conducted through a pore, 3hich
can be broken into t3o regions. $he more e,ternal (i.e., more e,tracellular) portion of the pore is formed by the
'0&loops' (the region bet3een S8 and S7) of the four domains. $his region is the most narro3 part of the pore
and is responsible for its ion selecti%ity. $he inner portion (i.e., more cytoplasmic) of the pore is formed by the
combined S8 and S7 segments of the four domains. $he region linking domains +++ and +( is also important for
channel function. $his region plugs the channel after prolonged acti%ation, inacti%ating it.
Gatingedit"
(oltage&gated Na
+
channels can e,ist in any of three distinct states9 deactivated (closed), activated (open),
or inactivated (closed).
:efore an action potential occurs, the a,onal membrane is at its normal resting potential, and Na
+
channels are
in their deacti%ated state, blocked on the e,tracellular side by their activation gates. +n response to an
electrical current (in this case, an action potential), the acti%ation gates open, allo3ing positi%ely&charged
Na
+
ions to flo3 into the neuron through the channels, and causing the %oltage across the neuronal membrane
to increase. :ecause the %oltage across the membrane is initially negati%e, as its %oltage
increases toand past 6ero, it is said to depolari6e. $his increase in %oltage constitutes the rising phase of an
action potential.
5t the peak of the action potential, 3hen enough Na
+
has entered the neuron and the membrane's potential has
become high enough, the Na
+
channels inacti%ate themsel%es by closing their inactivation gates. $he
inacti%ation gate can be thought of as a 'plug' tethered to domains +++ and +( of the channel's intracellular alpha
subunit. *losure of the inacti%ation gate causes Na
+
flo3 through the channel to stop, 3hich in turn causes the
membrane potential to stop rising. With its inacti%ation gate closed, the channel is said to be inacti%ated. With
the Na
+
channel no longer contributing to the membrane potential, the potential decreases back to its resting
potential as the neuron repolari6es and subse;uently hyperpolari6es itself. $his decrease in %oltage constitutes
the falling phase of the action potential.
When the membrane's %oltage becomes lo3 enough, the inacti%ation gate reopens and the acti%ation gate
closes in a process calleddeinactivation, or removal of inactivation. With the acti%ation gate closed and the
inacti%ation gate open, the Na
+
channel is once again in its deacti%ated state, and is ready to participate in
another action potential.
When any kind of ion channel does not inacti%ate itself, it is said to be persistently (or tonically) acti%e. Some
kinds of ion channels are naturally persistently acti%e. <o3e%er, genetic mutations that cause persistent acti%ity
in other channels can cause disease by creating e,cessi%e acti%ity of certain kinds of neurons. =utations that
interfere 3ith Na
+
channel inacti%ation can contribute to cardio%ascular diseases or epileptic sei6ures
by window currents, 3hich can cause muscle and>or ner%e cells to become o%er&e,cited.
Modeling the Behavior of Gatesedit"
$he temporal beha%ior of Na
+
channels can be modeled by a =arko%ian scheme or by the <odgkin&<u,ley&type
formalism. +n the former scheme, each channel occupies a distinct state 3ith differential e;uations describing
transitions bet3een states? in the latter, the channels are treated as a population that are affected by three
independent gating %ariables. @ach of these %ariables can attain a %alue bet3een ! (fully permeant to ions) and
A (fully non&permeant), the product of these %ariables yielding the percentage of conducting channels. $he
<odgkin&<u,ley model can be sho3n to be e;ui%alent to a =arko%ian model.
Impermeability to other ionsedit"
$he pore of sodium channels contains a selecti%ity filter made of negati%ely charged amino acid residues,
3hich attract the positi%e Na
+
ion and keep out negati%ely charged ions such as chloride. $he cations flo3 into a
more constricted part of the pore that is A.2 by A.8nm 3ide, 3hich is Bust large enough to allo3 a single Na
+
ion
3ith a 3ater molecule associated to pass through. $he larger C
+
ion cannot fit through this area. -ifferently
si6ed ions also cannot interact as 3ell 3ith the negati%ely charged glutamic acid residues that line the pore.
Diversityedit"
(oltage&gated sodium channels normally consist of an alpha subunit that forms the ion conduction pore and
one to t3o beta subunits that ha%e se%eral functions including modulation of channel gating.
1"
@,pression of the
alpha subunit alone is sufficient to produce a functional channel.
Alpha subunitsedit"
Figure 1 Dikely e%olutionary relationship of the nine kno3n human sodium channels.
$he family of sodium channels has nine kno3n members, 3ith amino acid identity E8AF in the trans&
membrane segments and e,tracellular loop regions. 5 standardi6ed nomenclature for sodium channels is
currently used and is maintained by the +G0<5H.
8"7"
$he proteins of these channels are named Na%!.! through Na%!.I. $he gene names are referred to as S*N!5
through S*N!!5 (the S*N7>J5 gene is part of the Na, sub&family and has uncertain function). $he likely
e%olutionary relationship bet3een these channels, based on the similarity of their amino acid se;uences, is
sho3n in figure !. $he indi%idual sodium channels are distinguished not only by differences in their se;uence
but also by their kinetics and e,pression profiles. Some of this data is summari6ed in table !, belo3.
Table 1. Nomenclature and some functions of voltage-gated sodium channel alpha subunits
Protein
name
Gene Expression profile Associated human channelopathies
Nav1.1 SCN1A
/entral neurons0
[eriheral neurons]
andcardiac m"oc"tes
fe!rile eiles"0 G-1S20 $ravet s"ndrome 3also )no4n as severe
myclonic epilepsy of infancy or SM-I50 !orderline SM-I 3SM-B50 6est
s"ndrome 3also )no4n as infantile spasms50 $oose s"ndrome 3also
)no4n as myoclonic astatic epilepsy50 intracta!le childhood eiles"
4ith generali7ed tonic-clonic sei7ures 3I/-G8/50 (ana"iotooulos
s"ndrome0 familial hemilegic migraine 319M50 familial autism0
&asmussens:s encehalitis and 'enno.-Gastaut s"ndrome
[,]
Nav1. SCN2A
/entral neurons0
eriheral neurons
inherited fe!rile sei7ures and eiles"
Nav1.! SCN3A
/entral neurons0
eriheral neurons and
cardiac m"oc"tes
none )no4n
Nav1." SCN4A S)eletal muscle
h"er)alemic eriodic aral"sis0 aram"otonia congenita0
and otassium-aggravated m"otonia
Nav1.# SCN5A
/ardiac m"oc"tes0
uninnervated s)eletal
muscle0 central neurons
'ong ;8 s"ndrome0 Brugada s"ndrome0 and idioathic ventricular
fi!rillation
Nav1.$ SCN8A /entral neurons0 dorsal
root ganglia0eriheral
none )no4n
neurons0 heart0 glia cells
Nav1.% SCN9A
$orsal root ganglia0
s"mathetic
neurons0Sch4ann cells0
andneuroendocrine cells
er"thromelalgia0 (-($0 channeloath"-associated insensitivit" to
ain and recentl" discovered a disa!ling form
of fi!rom"algia 3rs+,*#<31 ol"morhism - (MI$ 223#=,>25.
Nav1.& SCN10A $orsal root ganglia none )no4n
Nav1.' SCN11A $orsal root ganglia none )no4n
Nax SCN7A
heart0 uterus0 s)eletal
muscle0 astroc"tes0
dorsal root ganglion cells
none )no4n
Beta subunitsedit"
Sodium channel beta subunits are type ! transmembrane glycoproteins 3ith an e,tracellular N&terminus and a
cytoplasmic *&terminus. 5s members of the +g superfamily, beta subunits contain a prototypic (&set +g loop in
their e,tracellular domain. +nterestingly, beta subunits share no homology 3ith their counterparts of calcium and
potassium channels.
K"
+nstead, they are homologous to neural cell adhesion molecules (*5=s) and the large
family of D! *5=s. $here are four distinct betas named in order of disco%ery9 S*N!:, S*N#:, S*N2:,
S*N1: (table #). :eta ! and beta 2 interact 3ith the alpha subunit non&co%alently 3hile beta # and beta 1
associate 3ith alpha %ia disulfide bond.
I"
!ole of beta subunits as cell adhesion moleculesedit"
+n addition to regulating channel gating, sodium channel beta subunits also modulate channel e,pression and
form links to theintracelluar cytoskeleton %ia ankyrin and spectrin.
1"!A"!!"
(oltage&gated sodium channels also
assemble 3ith a %ariety of other proteins, such as F<F proteins (Fibroblast gro3th factor Homologous Factor),
calmodulin, cytoskeleton or regulatory kinases,
!#"!2"!1"!8"!7"
3hich form a comple, 3ith sodium channels,
influencing its e,pression and>or function. Se%eral beta subunits interact 3ith one or more e,tracellular
matri, (@*=) molecules. *ontactin, also kno3n as F2 or F!!, associates 3ith beta ! as sho3n %ia co&
immunoprecipitation.
!J"
Fibronectin&like (FN&like) repeats of $enascin&* and $enascin&H bind 3ith beta # in
contrast to the@pidermal gro3th factor&like (@)F&like) repeats that repel beta#.
!K"
5 disintegrin and
metalloproteinase (5-5=) !A sheds beta #'sectodomain possibly inducing neurite outgro3th.
!I"
:eta 2 and
beta ! bind to neurofascin at Nodes of Han%ier in de%eloping neurons.
#A"
Table . Nomenclature and some functions of voltage-gated sodium channel beta subunits
Protein
name
Gene
lin(
Assembles )ith Expression profile
Associated
humanchannelopathies
?av@1 SCN1B ?av1.1 to ?av1.,
/entral ?eurons0 (eriheral ?eurons0
s)eletal muscle0 heart0 glia
eiles" 3G-1S25
?av@2 SCN2B
?av1.10 ?av1.20 ?av1.*
to ?av1.,
/entral ?eurons0 eriheral neurons0
heart0 glia
none )no4n
?av@3 SCN3B
?av1.1 to ?av1.30
?av1.*
central neurons0 adrenal gland0 )idne"0
eriheral neurons
none )no4n
?av@# SCN4B ?av1.10 ?av1.20 ?av1.*
heart0 s)eletal muscle0 central and
eriheral neurons
none )no4n
Digand&gatededit"
Digand&gated sodium channels are acti%ated by binding of a ligand instead of a change in membrane potential.
$hey are found e.g. in the neuromuscular Bunction as nicotinic receptors, 3here the ligands
are acetylcholine molecules. =ost channels of this type are permeable to potassium to some degree as 3ell as
to sodium.
Hole in action potentialedit"
See main article: Action potential
(oltage&gated sodium channels play an important role in action potentials. +f enough channels open 3hen
there is a change in the cell'smembrane potential, a small but significant number of Na
+
ions 3ill mo%e into
the cell do3n their electrochemical gradient, furtherdepolari6ing the cell. $hus, the more Na
+
channels
locali6ed in a region of a cell's membrane, the faster the action potential 3ill propagate, and the
more e"citable that area of the cell 3ill be. $his is an e,ample of a positi%e feedback loop. $he ability of
these channels to assume a closed&inacti%ated state causes the refractory period and is critical for the
propagation of action potentials do3n an a,on.
Na
+
channels both open and close more ;uickly than C
+
channels, producing an influ, of positi%e charge
(Na
+
) to3ard the beginning of the action potential and an efflu, (C
+
) to3ard the end.
Digand&gated sodium channels, on the other hand, create the change in the membrane potential in the first
place, in response to the binding of a ligand to it.
0harmacologic modulationedit"
Bloc#ersedit"
See Sodium channel blockers
Activatorsedit"
$he follo3ing naturally produced substances persistently acti%ate (open) sodium channels9
5lkaloid based to,ins
aconitine
batrachoto,in
bre%eto,in
ciguato,in
delphinine
some grayanoto,ins, e.g., grayanoto,in + (other granoto,ins inacti%e, or close, sodium
channels)
%eratridine
Gating modifiersedit"
$he follo3ing to,ins modify the gating of sodium channels9
L&conoto,in
M&atracoto,in
#!"