Download MendeleyIon Selectivity in a Semisynthetic K+ Channel Locked in the Conductive Conformation.
Valiyaveetil, F.I., Leonetti, M., Muir, T.W., Mackinnon, R.(2006) Science 314: 1004-1007
- PubMed: 17095703
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1133415
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
2IH1, 2IH3 - PubMed Abstract:
Potassium channels are K+-selective protein pores in cell membrane. The selectivity filter is the functional unit that allows K+ channels to distinguish potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+) ions. The filter's structure depends on whether K+ or Na+ ions are bound inside it. We synthesized a K+ channel containing the d-enantiomer of alanine in place of a conserved glycine and found by x-ray crystallography that its filter maintains the K+ (conductive) structure in the presence of Na+ and very low concentrations of K+. This channel conducts Na+ in the absence of K+ but not in the presence of K+. These findings demonstrate that the ability of the channel to adapt its structure differently to K+ and Na+ is a fundamental aspect of ion selectivity, as is the ability of multiple K+ ions to compete effectively with Na+ for the conductive filter.
Organizational Affiliation:
Laboratories of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics and Synthetic Protein Chemistry, Rockefeller University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.
