Help answer this question. Some voltage-gated channels can inactivate while some

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Help answer this question.

Some voltage-gated channels can inactivate while some ligand-gated channels can desensitize. Describe the difference between inactivation and desensitization of an ion channel. Give one concrete example of a channel that is known to inactivate (besides the typical action potential Na^+ channel discussed in class) and one concrete example of a channel that is known to desensitize (besides the glutamate channel discussed in class). You will need to search the literature.. AND PLEASE EXPLAIN THE MECHANISM OF INACTIVATION AND DESENSITIZATION of your chosen channels.

Explanation / Answer

(a) inactivation - the main function of the ion channels is to allow the movement of the ions inside and outside the neuron which produces a electric current which results in the transmission of the impulse.. So, when these ions channels gets closed an do not allow the ions to pass through it hence no impulse is passed then I is called as ion channels are inactivated..!!!

Desensitization - It is a process in which due to the continuous and rapid stimulation of the post Synaptic neuron the receptors present there gets desensitized ineffective and can't play role in the transmission of impulse for sometime.. This phenomenon is called Desensitization..!!

(b) Ligand-gated ion channels sends chemical signals through electrical impulses by opening a transmembrane pore in response to binding one or many neurotransmitter molecules. As activation, many ligand-gated ion channels enter a desensitized state in which the neurotransmitter remains bound but the ion channel is closed. Although receptor desensitization is crucial to the functioning of many ligand-gated ion channels in vivo, the molecular basis of this important process has until now defied analysis.

Inactivation- gated ion channel can be in three states: open, closed, or inactivated. The inactivated state is mainly achieved through fast inactivation, by which a channel transitions rapidly from an open to an inactivated state. The model proposes that the inactivated state, which are sable and non-conducting, are caused by the physical blocking of the pore. The blockage is caused by a "ball" of amino acids connected to the main protein by a string of residues on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. This ball enters the open channel and binds to the hydrophobic inner vestibule within the ion channel. This blockage causes inactivation of the channel by stopping the flow of ions..

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