Introduction Connexins are the subunit proteins of gap junction (GJ) channels. Connexin43 (Cx43) is the most broadly expressed connexin in the tissues and organs of the human body and the main GJ protein of the heart. , Gap junctions provide…
Introduction: Structural and Molecular Bases of Mitochondrial Ion Channel Function Although ion channels and transporters are important modulators to mediate the ion flux across the plasma membrane in various cell types, including cardiomyocytes, they are also expressed on intracellular membranes…
Acknowledgment The authors acknowledge support provided by the American Heart Association (SDG 17SDG33410716 to BL) and the National Institutes of Health (grants RO1 HL074045, HL063043, and HL138579 to S.G.; R00 HL127299 and AHA 19TPA34910191 to P.B.R.). Structural Arrangement of the…
AcknowledgmentS We are grateful to Dr. C. Toyoshima (Tokyo, Japan) for providing the image of the SERCA pump structure in Fig. 5.2 and the illustrations in Fig. 5.3 , Dr. L. Raeymaekers (Leuven, Belgium) for providing the structural model of…
Introduction Potassium channels play a critical role in modulating cardiac excitability via their effects on the resting membrane potential and on the action potential waveform. The potassium channel family is diverse and comprises the voltage-gated, inwardly rectifying (Kir), small-conductance calcium-activated,…
Acknowledgments The author acknowledges the many individuals and laboratories that have contributed to our present understanding of myocardial K + channel diversity and functioning and apologizes for the fact that all of the primary papers could not be cited. The…
Acknowledgments This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01 HL126735, HL140934, HL146149, and HL121253 to SOM. Introduction In the heart, the influx of Ca 2+ , acting as a multidimensional signaling molecule, is essential for the activation…
Introduction Voltage-gated sodium channels initiate action potentials in nerves, skeletal muscles, cardiac myocytes, and other excitable cells, , and they are responsible for the propagation of action potentials through the atria, conduction system, and ventricles of the heart (see Chapter…