Chemical representation of ion flux gating in excitable biomembranes.

A review on molecularly specific gating schemes for ion fluxes in excitable biomembranes is presented. Basic electrophysiological data are discussed in terms of recent relaxation kinetic results on isolated acetylcholine receptor-lipid complexes and on acetylcholinesterase from electric fish. A key conclusion of this assay is that rapid bioelectrical signals based on transient permeability changes in axonal and synaptic parts of excitable biomembranes appear to be specialized cases of a more general chemically dissipative control principle involving activator-receptor interactions and metastability for the activated-conducting state.