Fragile X mental retardation protein controls gating of the sodium-activated potassium channel Slack

  • Nat Neurosci. 2010 Jul;13(7):819-21. doi: 10.1038/nn.2563.
Maile R Brown  1 ,  Jack Kronengold ,  Valeswara-Rao Gazula ,  Yi Chen ,  John G Strumbos ,  Fred J Sigworth ,  Dhasakumar Navaratnam ,  Leonard K Kaczmarek
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
PMID: 20512134 DOI: 10.1038/nn.2563
Abstract

In humans, the absence of Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), an RNA-binding protein, results in Fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited form of intellectual disability. Using biochemical and electrophysiological studies, we found that FMRP binds to the C terminus of the Slack sodium-activated Potassium Channel to activate the channel in mice. Our findings suggest that Slack activity provides a link between patterns of neuronal firing and changes in protein translation.