User:Amy Kerzmann/Sandbox 2
From Proteopedia
Voltage-gated Potassium Channel
Template:STRUCTURE 3cs9 Backgound
This crystal structure illuminated the principles of ion selectivity when it was solved in 1998.[1] To further demonstrate the importance of this structure, the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the principal investigator, Roderick MacKinnon.
Channel Structure:
The potassium channel is a homotetramer, meaning that it is comprised of four identical .
The central core of this protein is comprised of eight helices, two from each monomeric subunit. Since each has the same orientation in the membrane, the protein has a four-fold rotational symmetry when viewed from the membrane surface. As a result, each of the channel-lining residues appears as a ring of four identical sidechains. This principle is represented by the conserved residues that function as selectivity filters within the cavity. Additional and residues line the channel. Looking at a of these residues, one can see that some hydrophobic patches remain within the cavity.
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Channel Function:
Here's how it works.
References
