The role of ion channels in immune-related diseases

Electrical Stimulation for Immunomodulation

“…All cells have a membrane potential that is regulated by ion channels. Traditionally, altering ion concentrations in the extracellular milieu was used as a method to tune a cell’s potential, but more recently, there is a growing appreciation of the fact that the membrane potential may be tuned through external electrical signals/fields, and this approach is termed “electrical stimulation” (ES). − ES based alterations in a cell’s potential may be used to modulate that cell’s function. Indeed, ES has been extensively used to accelerate the physiological processes associated with wound healing and for bone, muscle, and nerve regeneration. − But it is believed that electrical modulation of cellular function is not limited to these cell types and is likely applicable to immune cells too.…”

Recent progress in understanding the intracellular domain's gating and functional roles in trimeric ligand-gated ion channels

“…离子通道是细胞膜上的一种特殊类型的通道，可以允许特定类型的离子如钠离子、钾离子、钙离子等通过细胞膜，从而调节细胞内外离子浓度和电位平衡。离子通道可以对广泛的化学刺激（神经递质、第二信使）和物理刺激（膜电位、机械力、温度）产生响应，在生物体内起着重要的信号传递作用，对生物体的生理和病理过程至关重要 ［ 1 ］ 。…”