Towards the three-dimensional structure of voltage-gated potassium channels

Electrical excitability is a fundamental property of the neuromuscular systems of metazoans. The varied response of neurons to electrical excitation is largely accounted for by a diverse set of voltage-gated potassium (K V) channels in the excitable membrane. The complete structure of a K V channel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in Biochemical Sciences 1999-09, Vol.24 (9), p.345-349
Main Authors: Choe, Senyon, Kreusch, Andreas, Pfaffinger, Paul J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics
Channel
Cytoplasm - metabolism
Electrophysiology
Ion Channel Gating - physiology
Ion selectivity
Models, Molecular
Potassium channels
Potassium Channels - chemistry
Potassium Channels - genetics
Potassium Channels - metabolism
Protein Conformation
Protein structure
Substrate Specificity
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Summary:Electrical excitability is a fundamental property of the neuromuscular systems of metazoans. The varied response of neurons to electrical excitation is largely accounted for by a diverse set of voltage-gated potassium (K V) channels in the excitable membrane. The complete structure of a K V channel is not yet available. However, recent structural biological experiments have begun to provide new insight into how specific K V channels are formed and regulated, and how they function and interact with other proteins. In particular, the selectivity of K V channels for K + and suggestions as to how these structural elements might assemble into a functional K V channel are discussed.
ISSN:0968-0004
1362-4326
DOI:10.1016/S0968-0004(99)01440-1