Vasylyev et al. show that the Na⁺ channel Na_v1.8 amplifies DRG neuron excitability close to the activation potential threshold, while Na_v1.7 acts closer to resting potential. Their findings suggest that full inhibition of Na_v1.8 may not be required for the relief of pain due to DRG neuron hyperexcitability.

Myosin-binding protein H (MyBP-H) is an understudied paralog of the muscle regulator myosin-binding protein C (MyBP-C). Mead et al. reveal that MyBP-H is highly expressed in the muscles of prenatal rats and larval zebrafish and that MyBP-H impacts sarcomere function despite lacking key regulatory domains.

Mohran et al. show that calcium has a direct effect on thick filament activation in myocardium rather than an indirect effect due to calcium-mediated crosstalk between the thick and thin filaments. Their findings should be considered in developing future drug candidates to treat heart diseases.

Two connexins, Cx26 and Cx30, are expressed in the cochlea and play vital roles in hearing. Sanchez et al. identified a sequence difference in their E1 domains that differentially affects their abilities to operate as hemichannnels and function in transmembrane signaling.

Kraujaliene et al. used modeling and dye uptake/transfer studies to show that an Ala/Glu difference in the E1 domains of Cx26 and Cx30 can account for their differential permeabilities to anionic permeants. The permeability profiles are conserved in gap junction channels and hemichannel configurations.

Using a mathematical model, Stephenson tests the hypothesis that the characteristic response to Ca²⁺ of RyR channels is key not only for the Ca²⁺ release mechanism in cardiac muscle and other tissues, but also for the DHPR-dependent Ca²⁺ release in skeletal muscles.

Mott et al. evaluate two click-chemistry protein labeling tools based on genetic code expansion technology and circularly permutated Halotag, respectively, for their utility in TRPV1 cell surface expression studies.