Mathematics of Ions in Protein Channels

描述（由申请人提供）：离子通道是中间有孔的蛋白质（直径约0.4 - 1纳米），控制着广泛的生物功能，因此每天在数千个实验室中进行研究。离子通道是物理和数学研究的理想对象，因为它们的结构简单且相当不变。离子通道是生物学研究的理想对象，因为它们控制着如此多的细胞功能，是大量蛋白质的原型，占据了人类基因组的很大一部分。离子通道是具有重要临床意义的对象，因为它们直接与许多疾病有关。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Ion channels are proteins with holes down their middle (some 0.4 - 1 nm in diameter) that control a wide range of biological function and so are studied in thousands of laboratories every day. Ion channels are ideal objects for physical and mathematical investigation because their structure is simple and quite invariant. Ion channels are ideal objects for biological investigation because they control so many cellular functions and are archetypes of an enormous number of proteins, occupying a substantial fraction of the human genome. Ion channels are objects of great clinical importance because they are involved directly in so many diseases. Ion channels can be studied in the physical tradition because ions move by electrodiffusion through a simple invariant structure following well known laws of diffusion in an electric field. Direct simulation of atomic motion in channels is not feasible on the biological time scale of msec if the system is to include well defined concentrations of ions and electrical potentials. The problem is to know what to average and how to average so the function of channels can be understood and controlled. Here we adopt the engineering approach of multiresolution analysis, proposing a mean field theory in the chemical tradition and stochastic theory in the mathematical tradition of stochastic physics. The central issue in both traditions is to extend previous theories of equilibrium systems to allow prediction of the large currents measured in biological channels.