For the latest information, tune to channel KcsA
Zagrovic, B.; Aldrich, R.
Science 285(5424): 59 61
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 10428704 Document Number: 506327
The activity of potassium ion channels is the basis of fundamental biological processes such as electrical signaling, osmotic balance, and signal transduction. These channels are transmembrane proteins that regulate potassium ion flux across the cell membrane with astounding selectivity and efficiency. In 1998, R. MacKinnon and colleagues published the crystal structure of KcsA, the potassium ion channel of the bacterium Streptomyces lividans, taking the field into a new age. In this issue, MacKinnon and B. Roux present a computational analysis of the electrostatic forces that steady potassium ions within the central cavity of the KcsA ion channel. In addition, E. Perozo and colleagues describe the conformational changes occurring in KcsA as it opens and closes, a process called gating that can be followed by electron paramagnetic resonance.