Mechanotransduction, the conversion of physical forces into biochemical signals, is
essential for various physiological processes such as the conscious sensations of touch and …

Two-pore domain K+(K 2P) channels give rise to leak (also called background) K+ currents.
The well-known role of background K+ currents is to stabilize the negative resting …

Background Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a devastating disease with high mortality.
Familial cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension are usually characterized by autosomal …

The mechanisms through which general anaesthetics, an extremely diverse group of drugs,
cause reversible loss of consciousness have been a long-standing mystery. Gradually, a …

Major discoveries have been obtained within the last decade in the field of hereditary
predisposition to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Among them, the identification of …

Inhaled anesthetics are a chemically diverse collection of hydrophobic molecules that
robustly activate TWIK-related K+ channels (TREK-1) and reversibly induce loss of …

“Suffering so great as I underwent cannot be expressed in words... but the blank whirlwind of
emotion, the horror of great darkness, and the sense of desertion by God and man, which …

TRAAK channels, members of the two–pore domain K+ (potassium ion) channel family K2P,
are expressed almost exclusively in the nervous system and control the resting membrane …

Cells respond to a wide variety of mechanical stimuli, ranging from thermal molecular
agitation to potentially destructive cell swelling caused by osmotic pressure gradients. The …

Potassium channels participate in many biological functions, from ion homeostasis to
generation and modulation of the electrical membrane potential. They are involved in a …