Modular Design of the Selectivity Filter Pore Loop in a Novel Family of Prokaryotic ‘Inward Rectifier’ (NirBac) channels

Modular design of the selectivity filter pore loop in a novel family of prokaryotic â•Ÿinward rectifierâ•Ž (NirBac) channels

Novel insights into the structural basis of pH-sensitivity in inward rectifier K+ channels Kir2.3.

The Kir2 channels belong to a family of potassium selective channels with characteristic strong inward rectification. Heteromeric assemblies of Kir2.1, Kir2.2 and Kir2.3 channels underly membrane potential stabilizing currents in ventricular myocytes, neurons and skeletal muscle. Kir2 channels differ substantially in their sensitivity to extracellular pH. The extracellular histidine Kir2.3(H117...

Stabilization of ion selectivity filter by pore loop ion pairs in an inwardly rectifying potassium channel.

Ion selectivity is critical for the biological functions of voltage-dependent cation channels and is achieved by specific ion binding to a pore region called the selectivity filter. In voltage-gated K+, Na+ and Ca2+ channels, the selectivity filter is formed by a short polypeptide loop (called the H5 or P region) between the fifth and sixth transmembrane segments, donated by each of the four su...

Asymmetrical contributions of subunit pore regions to ion selectivity in an inward rectifier K+ channel.

We have investigated aspects of ion selectivity in K+ channels by functional expression of wild-type and mutant heteromultimeric G protein-coupled inward-rectifier K+ (GIRK) channels in Xenopus oocytes. Within the K+ channel pore (P) region signature sequence, a large number of point mutations in GIRK1 and GIRK4 subunits have been made at a key tyrosine residue--the "signature" tyrosine of the ...

Activation of Inward Rectifier Potassium Channels in High Salt Impairment of Hydrogen Sulfide-Induced Aortic Relaxation in Rats

Introduction: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) plays a key role in the regulation of vascular tone and protection of blood vessels against endothelial dysfunction. Since the mechanism of salt impairing H2S-induced vascular relaxation is not fully clear, therefore this study was designed to investigate the role of potassium (K+) channels in the vasodilatory effects of exogenous H2S in rat aortic rings.&nb...