VIDEO ABSTRACT.

No abstract

The voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels, encoded by 40 genes, repolarize all electrically excitable cells, including plant, cardiac, and neuronal cells. Although these genes were fully sequenced decades ago, a comprehensive kinetic characterization of all Kv channels is still missing, especially near physiological temperature. Here, we present a standardized kinetic map of the 40 homomeric Kv channels systematically characterized at 15, 25, and 35°C. Importantly, the Kv kinetics at 35°C differ significantly from commonly reported kinetics, usually performed at room temperature. We observed voltage-dependent Q 10 for all active Kv channels and inherent heterogeneity in kinetics for some of them. Kinetic properties are consistent across different host cell lines and conserved across mouse, rat, and human. All electrophysiology data from all Kv channels are made available through a public website (Channelpedia). This dataset provides a solid foundation for exploring kinetics of heteromeric channels, roles of auxiliary subunits, kinetic modulation, and for building accurate Kv models.

Ion channels are membrane proteins that selectively conduct ions across the cell membrane. The flux of ions through ion channels drives electrical and biochemical processes in cells and plays a critical role in shaping the electrical properties of neurons. During the past three decades, extensive research has been carried out to characterize the molecular, structural, and biophysical properties of ion channels. This research has begun to elucidate the role of ion channels in neuronal function and has subsequently led to the development of computational models of ion channel function. Although there have been substantial efforts to consolidate these findings into easily accessible and coherent online resources, a single comprehensive resource is still lacking. The success of these initiatives has been hindered by the sheer diversity of approaches and the variety in data formats. Here, we present “Channelpedia” (), which is designed to store information related to ion channels and models and is characterized by an efficient information management framework. Composed of a combination of a database and a wiki-like discussion platform Channelpedia allows researchers to collaborate and synthesize ion channel information from literature. Equipped to automatically update references, Channelpedia integrates and highlights recent publications with relevant information in the database. It is web based, freely accessible and currently contains 187 annotated ion channels with 45 Hodgkin–Huxley models.

Ion channel models are the building blocks of computational neuron models. Their biological fidelity is therefore crucial for the interpretation of simulations. However, the number of published models, and the lack of standardization, make the comparison of ion channel models with one another and with experimental data difficult. Here, we present a framework for the automated large-scale classification of ion channel models. Using annotated metadata and responses to a set of voltage-clamp protocols, we assigned 2378 models of voltage- and calcium-gated ion channels coded in NEURON to 211 clusters. The IonChannelGenealogy (ICGenealogy) web interface provides an interactive resource for the categorization of new and existing models and experimental recordings. It enables quantitative comparisons of simulated and/or measured ion channel kinetics, and facilitates field-wide standardization of experimentally-constrained modeling.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22152.001