What is Ion channel?
An '''ion channel''' is a [[pore]]-forming [[protein]] that helps to establish and control the small [[voltage]] [[gradient]] across the [[plasma membrane]] of all living [[cell (biology)|cell]]s (see [[resting potential]]) by allowing the flow of [[ion]]s down their [[electrochemical gradient]]. They are present in the [[cell membrane|membrane]]s that surround all [[cell (biology)|biological cell]]s. An ion channel is an [[integral membrane protein]] or more typically an assembly of several proteins. The 2003 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] was awarded to [[Peter Agre]] and [[Roderick MacKinnon]] for their discovery of ion channels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2003/press.html|title=Press Release: Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2003|publisher=Nobel Media AB|accessdate=2011-10-02}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==Notes== * Bertil Hille: ''Ion channels of excitable membranes'', 3rd ed., Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA (2001). {{ISBN|0-87893-321-2}} == Related pages == *[[Electrophysiology]] == Other websites == *[http://www.vega.org.uk/video/programme/121 An Interview with Roderick MacKinnon] Freeview video by the Vega Science Trust. *[http://physrev.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/80/2/555 The Voltage Sensor in Voltage-Dependent Ion Channels] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219154145/http://physrev.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/80/2/555 |date=2007-02-19 }} *[http://www.cellbio.wustl.edu/faculty/huettner/69.pdf X-ray crystal structure of a potassium channel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926194518/http://www.cellbio.wustl.edu/faculty/huettner/69.pdf |date=2009-09-26 }} *[http://www.neuro.wustl.edu/neuromuscular/ Neuromuscular Disease Center at Washington University] *[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2003/press.html Nobel Prize Press Release] * [http://www.iuphar-db.org/iuphar-ic/index.html International Union of Pharmacologists, Ion channel compendium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070