M current

M current is a type of noninactivating potassium current first discovered in bullfrog sympathetic ganglion cells.[1]

The M-channel is a voltage-gated K+ channel (Kv7/KCNQ family) that is named after the receptor it is influenced by. The M-channel is important in raising the threshold for firing an action potential. It is unique because it is open at rest and even more likely to be open during depolarization. Furthermore, when the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (MAChR) is activated, the channel closes. The M-channel is a PIP2-regulated ion channel.[2] Kv7 channels have a prominent expression throughout the brain.[3]

  1. ^ Brown DA, Adams PR (February 1980). "Muscarinic suppression of a novel voltage-sensitive K+ current in a vertebrate neurone". Nature. 283 (5748): 673–6. Bibcode:1980Natur.283..673B. doi:10.1038/283673a0. PMID 6965523. S2CID 4238485.
  2. ^ Nicholls JG, Martin AR, Fuchs PA, Brown DA, Diamond ME, Weisblat DA (2012). From Neuron to Brain (Fifth ed.). pp. 229, 342.
  3. ^ Greene DL, Hoshi N (February 2017). "Modulation of Kv7 channels and excitability in the brain". Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 74 (3): 495–508. doi:10.1007/s00018-016-2359-y. PMC 5243414. PMID 27645822.