Single potassium ion seeks open channel for transmembrane travels: tales from the KcsA structure.
Potassium channels selectively catalyze potassium transport across cell membranes. Over the past five decades, a multitude of potassium channel models have been proposed. The recent crystal structure determination of the KcsA potassium channel confirms, corrects and expands our understanding of a fundamental biological catalyst, revealing the basis of exquisite selectivity and near diffusion-limited throughput.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Columbia University 650 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA. jeg52@columbia.edu
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D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002384:Catalysis; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D015221:Potassium Channels; C107790:prokaryotic potassium channel; D011188:Potassium