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Updated: Aug 26, 2026

Patch Clamp and Perfusion Techniques for Studying Ion Channels Expressed in Xenopus oocytes
Published on: January 10, 2011
Metabolic regulation of potassium channels
Xiang Dong Tang1, Lindsey Ciali Santarelli, Stefan H Heinemann
1Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. tang3@mail.med.upenn.edu
Abstract:
Potassium (K+) channels exist in all three domains of organisms: eubacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes. In higher animals, these membrane proteins participate in a multitude of critical physiological processes, including food and fluid intake, locomotion, stress response, and cognitive functions. Metabolic regulatory factors such as O2, CO2/pH, redox equivalents, glucose/ATP/ADP, hormones, eicosanoids, cell volume, and electrolytes regulate a diverse group of K+ channels to maintain homeostasis.
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