Ion channel twists to open

Ion-Channel Gating: Twist to open

Three-dimensional images of the open state of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor have been obtained at 9 A resolution. Comparison with the closed state reveals the structural basis of channel gating.

How does voltage open an ion channel?

Neurons transmit information through electrical signals generated by voltage-gated ion channels. These channels consist of a large superfamily of proteins that form channels selective for potassium, sodium, or calcium ions. In this review we focus on the molecular mechanisms by which these channels convert changes in membrane voltage into the opening and closing of "gates" that turn ion conduct...

Using independent open-to-closed transitions to simplify aggregated Markov models of ion channel gating kinetics.

Deducing plausible reaction schemes from single-channel current traces is time-consuming and difficult. The goal is to find the simplest scheme that fits the data, but there are many ways to connect even a small number of states (>2 million schemes with four open and four closed states). Many schemes make identical predictions. An exhaustive search over model space does not address the many equ...

Ion channel activity drives ion channel expression.

Channel gating: Twist to open

Recent studies of the bacterial mechanosensitive channel MscL have combined a number of different approaches to come up with a model for the channel gating mechanism.