title: Origin of ion selectivity in Phaseolus coccineus mitochondrial VDAC.
abstract: The mitochondrial voltage-dependent a nion-selective channel (VDAC) is the major permeation pathway for small ions and metabolites. Although a wealth of electrophysiological data has been obtained on different VDAC species, the physical mechanisms of their ionic selectivity are still elusive. We addressed this issue using electrophysiological experiments performed on plant VDAC. A simple macroscopic electrodiffusion model accounting for ion diffusion and for an effective fixed charge of the channel describes well its selectivity. Brownian Dynamics simulations of ion permeation performed on plant and mammalian VDACs point to the role of specific charged residues located at about the middle of the pore.
authors.affiliation: Structure et Fonction des Membranes Biologiques, Centre de Biologie Structurale et de Bioinformatique, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bld du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Eva-Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Krammer
authors.affiliation: Structure et Fonction des Membranes Biologiques, Centre de Biologie Structurale et de Bioinformatique, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bld du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Hayet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saidani
authors.affiliation: Structure et Fonction des Membranes Biologiques, Centre de Biologie Structurale et de Bioinformatique, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bld du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prévost
authors.affiliation: Structure et Fonction des Membranes Biologiques, Centre de Biologie Structurale et de Bioinformatique, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bld du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: fhomble@ulb.ac.be.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Homblé
mesh_terms: D000838:Anions / Q000378:metabolism*; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D027805:Phaseolus / Q000201:enzymology*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D050994:Voltage-Dependent Anion Channels / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000838:Anions; D050994:Voltage-Dependent Anion Channels
keywords: Beta-barrel; Brownian Dynamics; Electrophysiology; Ion channel; Ion selectivity; VDAC