ABSTRACT Voltage-dependent Na+ channels, which are responsible for the generation of action potentials in heart, are phosphorylated by adenosine 3’, 5’-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase. The combination of molecular biology to create channels with point mutations and electrophysiological techniques to study function encourage the idea that predictions of structures responsible for β-adrenergic modulation are possible. With the goal of understanding the properties of cAMP-dependent modification of the cardiac Na+ channel, this review introduces what is know about the effects of cAMP and β-adrenergic agonists and considers the relationship of the molecular function to phosphorylation-dependent modification of the cardiac Na+ channel.
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