Ion channel

An ion channel is a pore-forming protein that helps to establish and control the small voltage gradient across the plasma membrane of all living cells (see resting potential) by allowing the flow of ions down their electrochemical gradient. They are present in the membranes that surround all biological cells.

An ion channel is an integral membrane protein or more typically an assembly of several proteins.

The 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Peter Agre and Roderick MacKinnon for their discovery of ion channels.
References

Notes

 Bertil Hille: Ion channels of excitable membranes, 3rd ed., Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA (2001). 

 Related pages 
Electrophysiology

 Other websites 
An Interview with Roderick MacKinnon Freeview video by the Vega Science Trust.
The Voltage Sensor in Voltage-Dependent Ion Channels 
X-ray crystal structure of a potassium channel 
Neuromuscular Disease Center at Washington University
Nobel Prize Press Release
 International Union of Pharmacologists, Ion channel compendium 

Category:Proteins
Category:Biophysics