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Sci. STKE, 19 October 2004
Vol. 2004, Issue 255, p. tw375
[DOI: 10.1126/stke.2552004tw375]

EDITORS' CHOICE

CHANNELS The Nuts and Bolts of Channel Gating

Voltage-dependent cation channels have sensor domains that alter the conformation of the channel gate in response to changes in transmembrane voltage, but how this regulation is achieved remains a matter of debate. Cuello et al. have used site-directed spin labeling and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to analyze the local structure and dynamics of the prokaryotic voltage-dependent K+ channel KvAP. The results are not in complete agreement with any of the current models for channel gating, but find common ground between contrasting models and provide constraints that can be used in future analyses.

L. G. Cuello, D. M. Cortes, E. Perozo, Molecular architecture of the KvAP voltage-dependent K+ channel in a lipid bilayer. Science 306, 491-495 (2004). [Abstract] [Full Text]

Citation: The Nuts and Bolts of Channel Gating. Sci. STKE 2004, tw375 (2004).

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