In murine cortical collecting duct cells, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) stimulates transepithelial sodium transport mediated by the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). PGE2 is synthesized and secreted by the cells and acts on basolateral prostaglandin E receptor type 4 (EP4).

Szanto et al. propose a new gating scheme to explain how the Shaker family of voltage-gated potassium channels are inactivated at negative membrane potentials and how these channels recover from this state.

Living cells convert the hydrolytic energy of ATP to heat during various biochemical reactions. Oyama et al. show that thermogenesis increases temperature on the order of 1°C only proximal to the heat source, but not on a global basis in either non-excitable or excitable cells.

By comparing the measured displacement charge with a voltage-sensing model, Farrell et al. identify two hyperpolarized states and two reaction pathways in OHCs, suggesting that multiple pathways may allow these cells to amplify acoustic vibrations throughout the audible frequency range of mammals.

The anticonvulsant retigabine targets the neuronal M-channel but has adverse clinical effects due to its poor KV7 subtype specificity. Larsson et al. reveal that the selectivity of retigabine is improved by coapplication with the endocannabinoid arachidonoyl-L-serine.

AMPA and NMDA receptors underlie several neuropathologies, but the detailed gating mechanism of these channels remains incompletely understood. Wilding and Huettner show that exposure to Cd opens AMPA and NMDA receptors with cysteine substitutions near the inner helix bundle-crossing gate.

Polyamines regulate K+ efflux from cells by binding to K channels in a voltage-dependent manner. Suma et al. analyze how two polyamines, spermidine and spermine, bind and block the prokaryotic K channel MthK.