UC Davis study finds brain cell regulator is volume control, not on/...( and proliferate when needed. In fact ...)

and proliferate when needed. In fact, examples of these 'switches' include the well-studied products of oncogenes, proteins that get stuck in the 'on' position and cause cancer. Brain cells, however, must multi-task, receiving and processing signals from various sources, both inside and outside the body. "This ability to deal with a variety of signals involves some fairly sophisticated and subtle regulation of neuronal activity," Trimmer said.

Scientists have long known that potassium channels are crucial to the normal workings of brain cells. Neurons respond to stimuli, such as noise from the environment or chemical messengers from different parts of the body, by conducting weak electric currents across their membranes. This is possible because of an unequal distribution of charged ions, or atoms, on either side of the nerve cell membrane. Voltage-gated potassium channels regulate the passing of potassium ions across these membranes in response to changes in electric signal.

Brain cell activity is diminished when potassium channels are open. Closed channels lead to an increase in neuron excitability. Certain kinds of snake venom exploit this mechanism by blocking potassium channels and causing seizures. Likewise, defects in potassium channels have been associated with epilepsy and reduced brain development, as well as neurodegenerative disorders similar to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

The type of potassium ion channel examined in the current study, Kv2.1, has been shown in studies by assistant research scientist Hiroaki Misonou to be highly regulated in response to epileptic seizures, stroke, and anesthesia.

Trimmer and his colleagues are the first to use a mass spectrometry technique called SILAC (stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture) to study ion channels in brain cells. The problem for researchers has been that while mass spectrometry gives incredibly accurate measures of mass, quantifying
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Contact: Carole Gan
carole.gan@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
916-734-9047
University of California, Davis - Health System
17-Aug-2006

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