Baroreceptor mechanisms at the cellular level
Sachs, F.
Federation Proceedings 46(1): 12-16
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 0014-9446 PMID: 2433161 Document Number: 2952
Nothing is known of transduction mechanisms of baroreceptors in vivo. Not even the site of transduction is known. However, there are mechanotransducer ion channels that provide a useful model system of transduction. In these channels, transduction is accomplished by a strain-dependent increase in the probability of being open. Membrane tension is coupled to the channel by cytoskeletal strands that concentrate the strain energy from a large (approximately equal to 4000 A diameter) area of membrane and thereby provide high sensitivity. The channel is fast and does not inactivate, but viscoelastic coupling to the channel can dramatically alter the transfer function.
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