Paroxysms of excitement: sodium channel dysfunction in heart and brain

Article Abstract:

Inherited disorders of ion-channels are associated with paroxysmal dysfunction of excitable tissues and manifest as diseases of brain, heart, and skeletal muscle. They represent a paradigm for efforts to trace disturbed behavior of physiological systems back to its molecular origins and understanding their molecular basis may provide clues to important health issues such as cardiac side effects of drugs and response to medication used to treat epilepsy.

Epilepsy, Genetic disorders, Genetic research, Brain diseases, Sodium channels

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A molecular signature for the "master" heart cell

Article Abstract:

Published articles have explained the existence of a progenitor cell, which is supposed to give birth to all the different kinds of cells, including cardiomyocies and endothelial cells usually found in the heart of a vertebrate. The findings have proved the existence of such a master cell in the heart, giving rise to the cardiovascular lineages and hence can be widely used in the future for the stem-cell therapies for cardiac diseases.

Health aspects, Stem cells, Heart cells, Endothelial growth factors

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A gene for speed? The evolution and function of alpha-actinin-3

Article Abstract:

Alpha-actinin-3 is the most-highly specialized of the four mammalian alpha-actinins, with its expression restricted largely to fast glycolytic fibres in skeletal muscle. It provides a fascinating case study in molecular evolution, illustrating phenomena such as functional redundancy in duplicate genes, the evolution of protein function and the action of natural selection during recent human evolution.

Genetic aspects, Mammals, Chemical evolution, Molecular evolution

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