Development of Voltage-gated Ion Channels in Amphibian Muscle

小行星9514624 离子通道是介导带电分子穿过细胞膜运动的蛋白质，因此负责产生神经和肌肉细胞所使用的电信号。 神经和肌肉兴奋性的发展是由胚胎发生过程中离子通道数量的复杂变化决定的。 现在很清楚，在许多细胞中，发育早期的离子通道的类型和性质与成熟状态的离子通道非常不同。 这些差异反映了电活动的发育功能，这种功能与成熟细胞中电信号的后期作用不同。 通过测量不同发育阶段的功能性离子通道。我们可以确定关键时期，在此期间，存在的特定通道可能产生自发的电活动，然后确定该活动实际上是否对以后的发育很重要。 因为在发展过程中通道特性的变化可以变化迅速，这些关键时期可以很短，通常只有几个小时长。 在许多细胞中，它们可以在胚胎中识别细胞之前发生。 因此，为了了解离子通道发育模式的生物学功能，有必要尽可能早地在胚胎发生中识别细胞，并测量在广泛的阶段中存在的离子通道的类型和性质。 该项目使用电生理记录技术来测量肌肉发育不同阶段的离子通道特性，并使用分子技术来改变发育概况。 这将有助于确定电活动如何影响发育。 在可接近的实验系统（例如青蛙肌肉）中获得的结果然后可以应用于哺乳动物大脑的发育，其中已知通常由耳感觉经验介导的电活动在确保正常认知发育中起作用。

9514624 Moody Ion channels are proteins that mediate the movement of charged molecules across cell membranes, and thus are responsible for generating the electrical signals used by nerve and muscle cells. The development of excitability in nerve and muscle is governed by complex changes in the populations of ion channels that occur during embryogenesis. It is now clear that in many cells the types and properties of ion channels at early stages of development are very different from those in the mature state. These differences reflect a developmental function for electrical activity, a function that is distinct from the later roles of electrical signaling in the mature cell. By measuring the functional ion channels that are present at different stages of development. we can identify critical periods during which the particular channels present are likely to create spontaneous electrical activity, and then to determine whether that activity is in fact important for later development. Because changes in channel properties during development can be vary rapid, these critical periods can be short, often only a few hours long. In many cells, they can occur before it is possible to identify the cell in the embryo. To understand the biological function of the patterns of ion channel development, therefore, it is necessary to identify cells as early in embryogenesis as possible and to measure the types and properties of ion channels present over a wide range of stages. This project uses electrophysiological recording techniques to measure the properties of ion channels at various stages in the development of a muscle, and molecular techniques to make specific changes in that developmental profile. This will allow determining exactly how electrical activity is influencing development. The results obtained in an accessible experimental system such as frog muscle can then be applied to the development of the mammalian brain, where it is known that electrical activity, often mediated by ear ly sensory experience, plays a role in assuring normal cognitive development.