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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Use of Pre-Assembled Plastic Microfluidic Chips for Compartmentalizing Primary Murine Neurons
Published on: November 2, 2018
Ion fluxes and neurotransmitters signaling in neural development
Michael Andäng1, Urban Lendahl
1Division of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. michael.andang@ki.se
Abstract:
The brain develops and functions in a complex ionic milieu, which is a prerequisite for neurotransmitter function and neuronal signaling. Neurotransmitters and ion fluxes are, however, important not only in neuronal signaling, but also in the control of neural differentiation, and in this review, we highlight the recent advances in our understanding of how the gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter and ion fluxes are relevant for cell cycle control and neural differentiation. Conversely, proteins previously associated with ion transport across membranes have been endowed with novel ion-independent functions, and we discuss this in the context of gap junctions in cell adhesion and of the neuron-specific K(+)-Cl(-) cotransporter KCC2 in dendritic spine development. Collectively, these findings provide a richer and more complex picture of when ion fluxes are needed in neural development and when they are not.
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