Cation selectivity in ion channels

Structural studies of ion selectivity in tetrameric cation channels

Tuning the ion selectivity of tetrameric cation channels by changing the number of ion binding sites.

Selective ion conduction across ion channel pores is central to cellular physiology. To understand the underlying principles of ion selectivity in tetrameric cation channels, we engineered a set of cation channel pores based on the nonselective NaK channel and determined their structures to high resolution. These structures showcase an ensemble of selectivity filters with a various number of co...

Ion conduction and selectivity in K(+) channels.

Potassium (K(+)) channels are tetrameric membrane-spanning proteins that provide a selective pore for the conductance of K(+) across the cell membranes. These channels are most remarkable in their ability to discriminate K(+) from Na(+) by more than a thousandfold and conduct at a throughput rate near diffusion limit. The recent progress in the structural characterization of K(+) channel provid...

Dynamic Selectivity Filters in Ion Channels

was permeable to molecules as large as the 630 Da YO-Pasadena, California 91125 PRO-1 dye. This experiment demonstrated, for the first time, real time changes in ion selectivity for a molecularly defined, single ion channel species (but see Petrou et Membrane ion channels contain integral pores that pre-al., 1997). cisely select their permeant ions. This selectivity an-P2X Structure-Function Ba...

Ion Conduction and Selectivity in K+ Channels