Ion channel associated diseases: Overview of molecular mechanisms

A number of researchers conducted a study to present an overview of molecular mechanisms in ion channel associated diseases. The study aimed at showing the bases of channelopathies by demonstrating with didactic examples how the molecular properties of a population of ion channels contributed to the generation of a macroscopic ionic current and how mutations changed these molecular properties to generate abnormal currents and caused channelopathies. It was demonstrated that the ionic currents that flowed passively through ion channels generated dynamic electrical signals, transferred ions across compartments, and coupled to intracellular biochemical pathways. Two fundamental properties of ion channels, such as selectivity and gating, allowed for organized ionic permeation while maintaining the barrier property of the membrane.