User:Ryburns83/SK CHANNELS

Wikipedia Proposal: SK Channels

Bethany Chaves, Matt White, and Ryan Burns

This is the proposal of our project on the SK channel. This page will serve as a proposed outline for our page.

The work will be split up by section and assigned to each respective group member at meetings. Each group member will develop a sturdy background understanding on the topic before tackling each of their assigned subtopics. In this way division of labor is equal, as is a foundational knowledge about the SK channel. The sections listed below, into which our topic page is to be divided, are subject to change as research develops, as the bulk of the information available may lie more towards one section than anticipated.

Introduction

SK channels are calcium-modulated potassium leak channels that regulate excitability throughout much of the central nervous system. Directly activated by the binding of calmodulin, these fast-acting channels promote both short-term and long-term changes in the central nervous system, as they are involved in modulation of synaptic transmission, as well as synaptic plasticity and memory formation. Activation of these post-synaptic transmembrane channels solely requires increases in the intracellular concentrations of calcium, so as to induce calmodulin-binding. SK channels are an important topic for research due to their involvement in neural plasticity.

Elaboration and expansion of this section will occur throughout the course of the project.

Structure

Information will be provided about the basic anatomical features of the channel (i.e. active sites, active and inactive states, etc.)

Classifications

A note on subtypes: if the amount of information on this topic proves substantial, it will be kept to its own section; if not, this section can always be absorbed into "Function"

Function

Greater detail will be included about the physiology of SK channels and their role in the CNS. That is, we will be covering both the "big picture" and "small picture" and the relation between the two.

Current and Future Research

If necessary, this section can be transformed into a section on plasticity.

References

1. Bond, Chris T., James Maylie, and John P. Adelman. 2005. SK channels in excitability, pacemaking and synaptic integration. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 15 (3) (6): 305-11.

2. Faber, ES Louise, and Pankaj Sah. 2007. FUNCTIONS OF SK CHANNELS IN CENTRAL NEURONS. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology 34 (10): 1077-83.

3. Fakler, Bernd, and John P. Adelman. 2008. Control of KCa channels by calcium Nano/Microdomains. Neuron 59 (6) (9/25): 873-81.

4. Félétou, Michel. 2009. Calcium-activated potassium channels and endothelial dysfunction: Therapeutic options? British Journal of Pharmacology 156 (4): 545-62.

5. Grgic, Ivica, Brajesh P. Kaistha, Joachim Hoyer, and Ralf Köhler. 2009. Endothelial Ca2+-activated K+ channels in normal and impaired EDHF?dilator responses ? relevance to cardiovascular pathologies and drug discovery. British Journal of Pharmacology 157 (4): 509-26.

6. Ocaña, María, Cruz Miguel Cendán, Enrique José Cobos, José Manuel Entrena, and José Manuel Baeyens. 2004. Potassium channels and pain: Present realities and future opportunities. European Journal of Pharmacology 500 (1–3) (10/1): 203-19.

7. Weatherall, Kate L., Samuel J. Goodchild, David E. Jane, and Neil V. Marrion. 2010. Small conductance calcium-activated potassium channels: From structure to function. Progress in Neurobiology 91 (3) (7): 242-55.