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Related Concept Videos

Voltage-gated Ion Channels01:26

Voltage-gated Ion Channels

Voltage-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that open and close in response to changes in the membrane potential. They are present on the membranes of all electrically excitable cells such as neurons, heart, and muscle cells.
Generally, all voltage-gated ion channels have a 'voltage-sensing domain' that spans the lipid bilayer. The charged residues in the sensor move in response to the membrane potential changes that open the channel allowing ions movement. There are several types of...
Voltage-gated Ion Channels01:26

Voltage-gated Ion Channels

Voltage-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that open and close in response to changes in the membrane potential. They are present on the membranes of all electrically excitable cells such as neurons, heart, and muscle cells.
Generally, all voltage-gated ion channels have a 'voltage-sensing domain' that spans the lipid bilayer. The charged residues in the sensor move in response to the membrane potential changes that open the channel allowing ions movement. There are several types of...
ATP Driven Pumps III: V-type Pumps01:30

ATP Driven Pumps III: V-type Pumps

V-type pumps are ATP-driven pumps found in the vacuolar membranes of plants, yeast, endosomal and lysosomal membranes of animal cells, plasma membranes of a few specialized eukaryotic cells, and some prokaryotes. They are also known as the V1Vo-ATPase, that couple ATP hydrolysis to transport protons against a concentration gradient.
The peripheral or cytosolic V1 domain with eight subunits is involved in ATP hydrolysis. The integral or transmembrane V0 domain containing at least five subunits...
Ion Channels01:19

Ion Channels

The movement of ions like sodium, potassium, and calcium into and out of the cell is essential to maintain the electrochemical gradient in living cells. The ion channels—a class of membrane transport proteins—help maintain this ionic gradient for the smooth functioning of physiological activities such as maintaining cell size and volume, conducting nerve impulses, and gas and nutrient exchange.
Ion channels are specialized integral membrane proteins on the plasma membrane that allow specific...
Non-gated Ion Channels01:24

Non-gated Ion Channels

Ion channels are specialized proteins on the plasma membrane that allow charged ions to pass down their electrochemical gradient. Their main function is to maintain the membrane potential which is critical for cell viability. These channels are either gated or non-gated and can transport more than a thousand ions within milliseconds for the cellular event to occur.
Compared to the gated ion channels, the non-gated channels, also known as leakage or passive channels, have no gating mechanism.
Non-gated Ion Channels01:24

Non-gated Ion Channels

Ion channels are specialized proteins on the plasma membrane that allow charged ions to pass down their electrochemical gradient. Their main function is to maintain the membrane potential which is critical for cell viability. These channels are either gated or non-gated and can transport more than a thousand ions within milliseconds for the cellular event to occur.
Compared to the gated ion channels, the non-gated channels, also known as leakage or passive channels, have no gating mechanism.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Reconstitution of a Transmembrane Protein, the Voltage-gated Ion Channel, KvAP, into Giant Unilamellar Vesicles for Microscopy and Patch Clamp Studies
11:42

Reconstitution of a Transmembrane Protein, the Voltage-gated Ion Channel, KvAP, into Giant Unilamellar Vesicles for Microscopy and Patch Clamp Studies

Published on: January 22, 2015

Voltage-dependent anion-selective channel (VDAC) in the plasma membrane.

Vito De Pinto1, Angela Messina, Darius J R Lane

  • 1Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, Istituto Nazionale di Biomembrane e Biosistemi, Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy. vdpbiofa@unict.it

FEBS Letters
|February 27, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Voltage-dependent anion channels (VDACs) are found in the plasma membrane, not just mitochondria. This review examines evidence and proposes how these channels reach the cell surface.

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Whole-cell Patch-clamp Recordings for Electrophysiological Determination of Ion Selectivity in Channelrhodopsins
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Whole-cell Patch-clamp Recordings for Electrophysiological Determination of Ion Selectivity in Channelrhodopsins

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Last Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Reconstitution of a Transmembrane Protein, the Voltage-gated Ion Channel, KvAP, into Giant Unilamellar Vesicles for Microscopy and Patch Clamp Studies
11:42

Reconstitution of a Transmembrane Protein, the Voltage-gated Ion Channel, KvAP, into Giant Unilamellar Vesicles for Microscopy and Patch Clamp Studies

Published on: January 22, 2015

Monitoring Leucine-Rich Repeat Containing 8 Channel (LRRC8/VRAC) Activity Using Sensitized-Emission Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (SE-FRET)
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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Membrane Transport

Background:

  • Voltage-dependent anion channels (VDACs) were initially identified as mitochondrial porins.
  • Emerging evidence since the late 1980s suggests VDACs are also present in plasma membranes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review historical findings on plasma membrane VDACs.
  • To critically analyze evidence supporting VDAC localization at the plasma membrane.
  • To discuss the functional implications and targeting mechanisms of plasma membrane VDACs.

Main Methods:

  • Review of historical scientific literature.
  • Critical analysis of VDAC purification strategies.
  • Examination of plasma membrane proteomics data.
  • Discussion of hypothetical VDAC targeting models.

Main Results:

  • Accumulating evidence supports the presence of VDACs in plasma membranes.
  • Purification strategies and proteomics studies provide key data for VDAC localization.
  • Potential biological roles for plasma membrane VDACs are being explored.

Conclusions:

  • VDACs exhibit a broader cellular localization than previously thought, including the plasma membrane.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate the function and regulation of plasma membrane VDACs.
  • A hypothetical model for VDAC targeting to the plasma membrane is proposed.