An enzymatic mechanism for potassium channel stimulation through pertussis-toxin-sensitive G proteins.

Many neurotransmitters inhibit secretion from electrically excitable cells by activating pertussis-toxin-sensitive G proteins that modulate voltage-gated ion channels. Recent electrophysiological studies of metabolically intact cells from mammalian and molluscan neuroendocrine systems have implicated protein phosphatases in this process. In this article David Armstrong and Richard White review these studies and suggest a biochemical pathway that might link one of the G proteins to protein phosphatase activity.