Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-2018
Publication Title
Frontiers in Physiology
Volume
9
Pages
1661 (10 pages)
DOI
10.3389/fphys.2018.01661
Abstract
Whilst the phenomenon of an electrical resting membrane potential (RMP) is a central tenet of biology, it is nearly always discussed as a phenomenon that facilitates the propagation of action potentials in excitable tissue, muscle, and nerve. However, as ion channel research shifts beyond these tissues, it became clear that the RMP is a feature of virtually all cells studied. The RMP is maintained by the cell's compliment of ion channels. Transcriptome sequencing is increasingly revealing that equally rich compliments of ion channels exist in both excitable and non-excitable tissue. In this review, we discuss a range of critical roles that the RMP has in a variety of cell types beyond the action potential. Whereas most biologists would perceive that the RMP is primarily about excitability, the data show that in fact excitability is only a small part of it. Emerging evidence show that a dynamic membrane potential is critical for many other processes including cell cycle, cell-volume control, proliferation, muscle contraction (even in the absence of an action potential), and wound healing. Modulation of the RMP is therefore a potential target for many new drugs targeting a range of diseases and biological functions from cancer through to wound healing and is likely to be key to the development of successful stem cell therapies.
Original Publication Citation
Kadir, L. A., Stacey, M., & Barrett-Jolley, R. (2018). Emerging roles of the membrane potential: Action beyond the action potential. Frontiers in Physiology, 9, 1661. doi:10.3389/fphys.2018.01661
Repository Citation
Kadir, Lina Abdul; Stacey, Michael; and Barrett-Jolley, Richard, "Emerging Roles of the Membrane Potential: Action Beyond the Action Potential" (2018). Bioelectrics Publications. 224.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/bioelectrics_pubs/224
ORCID
0000-0002-3807-6233 (Stacey)
Included in
Biology Commons, Biomedical Commons, Cell Biology Commons, Physiology Commons
Comments
Copyright © 2018 Abdul Kadir, Stacey and Barrett-Jolley. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CCBY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.