Electrophysiology Of Unconventional Channels And Pores (springer Series In Biophysics)
by Anne H. Delcour /
2015 / English / PDF
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This book is dedicated to the channels and pores that belong to
an eclectic and ubiquitous class of unconventional - perhaps at
times strange - pore-forming molecules, which nevertheless play
fundamental roles in various organisms. These non-canonical
channels may take on various and sometimes complex architectures,
such as large beta-barrels or lipid-containing pores. They may
originate from bacteria, viruses or intracellular organelles. For
some of them, the physiologically relevant substrate may indeed
be ions, and for others folded polypeptides. Some are released by
cells in a soluble form that has the ability to insert into
biological membranes to exert its permeabilizing effect. Many of
these unconventional pores have been investigated by
electrophysiology, which, by its virtue of focusing on a few or
even a single unit, has provided invaluable insight into the
mechanisms and structure-function relationships of these
remarkable membrane entities. The chapters of this book highlight
a representative set of these interesting investigations.
This book is dedicated to the channels and pores that belong to
an eclectic and ubiquitous class of unconventional - perhaps at
times strange - pore-forming molecules, which nevertheless play
fundamental roles in various organisms. These non-canonical
channels may take on various and sometimes complex architectures,
such as large beta-barrels or lipid-containing pores. They may
originate from bacteria, viruses or intracellular organelles. For
some of them, the physiologically relevant substrate may indeed
be ions, and for others folded polypeptides. Some are released by
cells in a soluble form that has the ability to insert into
biological membranes to exert its permeabilizing effect. Many of
these unconventional pores have been investigated by
electrophysiology, which, by its virtue of focusing on a few or
even a single unit, has provided invaluable insight into the
mechanisms and structure-function relationships of these
remarkable membrane entities. The chapters of this book highlight
a representative set of these interesting investigations.
