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Alternative splicing of potassium channels: a dynamic switch of cellular excitability
1Membrane Biology Group, Section of Biomedical Science, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Hugh Robson Building, EH8 9XD, Edinburgh, UK. mike.shipston@ed.ac.uk
Trends in Cell Biology
|August 22, 2001
Abstract:
Alternative splicing of pre-messenger RNA and reversible protein phosphorylation are fundamental mechanisms for regulating protein structure and function. Recent studies of one class of potassium channel (BK(Ca)) reveal dynamic reciprocal interactions between pre-mRNA splicing and protein phosphorylation. Splicing is regulated by phosphorylation, and exon selection determines the sensitivity of the channel protein to regulation by protein phosphorylation. These studies reveal a powerful dynamic molecular switch to determine cellular excitability.