title: Structure of the voltage-gated L-type Ca2+ channel by electron cryomicroscopy.
abstract: Voltage-dependent L-type Ca(2+) channels play important functional roles in many excitable cells. We present a three-dimensional structure of an L-type Ca(2+) channel. Electron cryomicroscopy in conjunction with single-particle processing was used to determine a 30-A resolution structure of the channel protein. The asymmetrical channel structure consists of two major regions: a heart-shaped region connected at its widest end with a handle-shaped region. A molecular model is proposed for the arrangement of this skeletal muscle L-type Ca(2+) channel structure with respect to the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-release channel, the physical partner of the L-type channel for signal transduction during the excitation-contraction coupling in muscle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: I I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Serysheva
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ludtke
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hamilton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020746:Calcium Channels, L-Type / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020285:Cryoelectron Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000737:chemistry; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D020746:Calcium Channels, L-Type
keywords: Non-programmatic