Textbook of Ion Channels Volume I: Fundamental Mechanisms and Methodologies

The Textbook of Ion Channels is a comprehensive three-volume reference source on ion channels for students, instructors, and researchers. It covers fundamental topics, practical methods, and key examples of ion channels' regulatory, physiological, and disease roles, making it essential for understanding human health and diseases.

Format: Hardback
Length: 318 pages
Publication date: 09 June 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The Textbook of Ion Channels is a comprehensive three-volume resource that serves as an invaluable reference for students, instructors, and researchers in the field of ion channels. These remarkable membrane proteins play a pivotal role in regulating the electrical properties of neurons and cardiac cells, facilitating the detection and response to a wide range of sensory stimuli, including light, sound, odor, and taste. Moreover, ion channels play a crucial role in governing the response to physical stimuli such as temperature and pressure. In non-excitable tissues, ion channels are essential for maintaining the delicate balance of salts, which is vital for maintaining homeostasis.

Located at the surface membrane of cells, ion channels possess a unique ability to interact with their surroundings and regulate the internal environment of intracellular organelles. This communication enables ion channels to play a vital role in maintaining cellular health and homeostasis.

Ion channels hold immense importance for human health and disease, making them prominent targets for pharmaceutical interventions in mental illness, heart disease, anesthesia, pain, and various other clinical applications. The modern methods employed in the study of ion channels are highly powerful and diverse, encompassing a wide range of techniques, from single ion-channel measurements to models of ion channel diseases in animals and human clinical trials for ion channel drugs.

Volume I, Part 1 delves into fundamental aspects of ion permeation, selectivity, voltage-dependent, ligand-dependent, and mechano-dependent ion channel activation mechanisms. It also explores the mechanisms of desensitization and inactivation of ion channels, as well as basic ion channel pharmacology and inhibition.

Volume I, Part 2 provides a practical guide to conducting research on ion channels. It covers essential methods such as heterologous expression, voltage-clamp, and patch-clamp electrophysiology, which enable the study of native currents and ion channel gating, structures, and dynamics. These methods provide valuable insights into the functioning of ion channels and their role in various physiological processes.

In conclusion, the Textbook of Ion Channels is a indispensable resource for anyone interested in the field of ion channels. It offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of these essential membrane proteins, their functions, and their applications in health and disease. With its extensive coverage of fundamental topics and practical research methods, this textbook is an invaluable tool for students, instructors, and researchers seeking to advance their understanding of ion channels and their potential therapeutic implications.

Dimension: 254 x 178 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367538156