The discovery of resurgent currents in 1997 (Raman & Bean, 1997) added a new dimension to one of the most thoroughly investigated gating processes of voltage-gated sodium channels: the fast inactivation. In response to a depolarizing change in membrane potential, sodium channels activate quickly, which leads to the initiation of an action potential in excitable cells. Within milliseconds of opening, the channel pore is occluded by inactivation via the DIII-DIV linker, allowing repolarization to occur. During this fast inactivation process, the intra-cellular inactivation linker containing the IFMT motive docks on its receptor sites at the cytoplasmic face of the channel pore.
展开▼
