introduction: intracellular ph (phi) regulates essentially all aspects of cellular activities. however, it is unknown how endoplasmic reticulum (er) potassium channels sense phi. in this study, we investigate the direct effects of phi on er potassium channels. methods: we used channel incorporation into the bilayer lipid membrane method. l-α-phosphatidylcholine, a membrane lipid, was extracted ...

introduction: recent studies have shown the presence of cl- channels in heart and liver mitochondrial membranes. in this work, we have characterized the functional profile of a cl- channel from rat brain mitochondria. methods: after removing and homogenizing the rat brain, the supernatant was separately centrifuged in msedigitonin, h2o and na2co3 and mitochondrial inner membrane vesicles were o...

Introduction: Previous studies and our works have indicated several cation channels in the rat brain mitochondrial inner membrane. In this work, we report the single-channel characterization of a cation channel from the rat brain mitochondrial inner membrane incorporated into a planar lipid bilayer. Methods: After removing and homogenizing the adult rat brain, its supernatant was centrifuged...

background: defects in endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis are common occurrences in different diseases, such as diabetes, in which the function of endoplasmic reticulum is disrupted. it is now well established that ion channels of endoplasmic reticulum membrane have a critical role in endoplasmic reticulum luminal homeostasis. our previous studies showed the presence of an atp-sensitive cationic...

introduction: we have recently reported the presence of two potassium currents with 598 and 368 ps conductance in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (rer) membrane. the 598 ps channel was voltage dependent and atp sensitive. however, the 368 ps channel was rarely observed and its identity remained obscure. since cationic channels in intracellular organelles such as mitochondria and rer play import...

Introduction: we have recently reported the presence of two potassium currents with 598 and 368 pS conductance in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) membrane. The 598 pS channel was voltage dependent and ATP sensitive. However, the 368 pS channel was rarely observed and its identity remained obscure. Since cationic channels in intracellular organelles such as mitochondria and RER play imp...

The simplest cell-like structure, the lipid bilayer vesicle, can respond to mechanical deformation by elastic membrane dilation/thinning and curvature changes. When a protein is inserted in the lipid bilayer, an energetic cost may arise because of hydrophobic mismatch between the protein and bilayer. Localized changes in bilayer thickness and curvature may compensate for this mismatch. The pept...

The lipid bilayer component of biological membranes is important for the distribution, organization, and function of bilayer-spanning proteins. This regulation is due to both specific lipid-protein interactions and general bilayer-protein interactions, which modulate the energetics and kinetics of protein conformational transitions, as well as the protein distribution between different membrane...

By virtue of the strength of hydrophobic interactions and the malleability of phospholipid acyl chains, membrane lipids become one of the important glues of life. The liquid-crystalline organization of the bilayer component of biological membranes enables the membranes to be effective, cohesive, and yet flexible, barriers separating two fluid compartments. Integral membrane proteins are imbedde...