Chloride channel

Chloride channels are a superfamily of poorly understood ion channels consisting of approximately 13 members.

Chloride channels are important for setting cell resting membrane potential and maintaining proper cell volume. These channels conduct Cl- as well as other anions such as HCO3-, I-, SCN-, and NO3-. The structure of these channels is also not other known channels. Chloride channel subunits contain between 1 and 12 transmembrane segments. Some members of this family are activated by voltage, while others are activated by Ca2+, extracellular ligands, and pH among other modulators.