During the Respiratory Burst, Do Phagocytes Need Proton Channels or Potassium Channels, or Both?

What is it about?

This Perspective critiques a recent paper by the Segal group (Ahluwalia et al, 2004. Nature 427:853-858) which reports that maxi-K channels are the only ion channels in PMA-activated neutrophils and eosinophils, and hence perform all channel-mediated tasks. Other labs (including ours) do not see these currents, but see proton currents instead. K+ flux may serve a useful function, but we feel that proton efflux is the main charge compensation mechanism.

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Why is it important?

From the day it was published, it was obvious to us from our extensive measurements of these cells that something was very wrong with the Ahluwalia paper. This turned out to be the case, as that study was retracted from Nature seven years later.