Structural highlights
Function
[KCSA_STRLI] Acts as a pH-gated potassium ion channel; changing the cytosolic pH from 7 to 4 opens the channel, although it is not clear if this is the physiological stimulus for channel opening. Monovalent cation preference is K(+) > Rb(+) > NH4(+) >> Na(+) > Li(+).[1]
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Potassium channels are K+-selective protein pores in cell membrane. The selectivity filter is the functional unit that allows K+ channels to distinguish potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+) ions. The filter's structure depends on whether K+ or Na+ ions are bound inside it. We synthesized a K+ channel containing the d-enantiomer of alanine in place of a conserved glycine and found by x-ray crystallography that its filter maintains the K+ (conductive) structure in the presence of Na+ and very low concentrations of K+. This channel conducts Na+ in the absence of K+ but not in the presence of K+. These findings demonstrate that the ability of the channel to adapt its structure differently to K+ and Na+ is a fundamental aspect of ion selectivity, as is the ability of multiple K+ ions to compete effectively with Na+ for the conductive filter.
Ion selectivity in a semisynthetic K+ channel locked in the conductive conformation.,Valiyaveetil FI, Leonetti M, Muir TW, Mackinnon R Science. 2006 Nov 10;314(5801):1004-7. PMID:17095703[2]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
See Also
References
- ↑ Schrempf H, Schmidt O, Kummerlen R, Hinnah S, Muller D, Betzler M, Steinkamp T, Wagner R. A prokaryotic potassium ion channel with two predicted transmembrane segments from Streptomyces lividans. EMBO J. 1995 Nov 1;14(21):5170-8. PMID:7489706
- ↑ Valiyaveetil FI, Leonetti M, Muir TW, Mackinnon R. Ion selectivity in a semisynthetic K+ channel locked in the conductive conformation. Science. 2006 Nov 10;314(5801):1004-7. PMID:17095703 doi:314/5801/1004