title: Structure of potassium channels.
abstract: Potassium channels ubiquitously exist in nearly all kingdoms of life and perform diverse but important functions. Since the first atomic structure of a prokaryotic potassium channel (KcsA, a channel from Streptomyces lividans) was determined, tremendous progress has been made in understanding the mechanism of potassium channels and channels conducting other ions. In this review, we discuss the structure of various kinds of potassium channels, including the potassium channel with the pore-forming domain only (KcsA), voltage-gated, inwardly rectifying, tandem pore domain, and ligand-gated ones. The general properties shared by all potassium channels are introduced first, followed by specific features in each class. Our purpose is to help readers to grasp the basic concepts, to be familiar with the property of the different domains, and to understand the structure and function of the potassium channels better.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Novum, 14183, Huddinge, Sweden. Qie.Kuang@ki.se.|School of Technology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Novum, 14183, Huddinge, Sweden. Qie.Kuang@ki.se.
authors.forename: Qie
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1509-5009
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Kuang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Novum, 14183, Huddinge, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pasi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Purhonen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Novum, 14183, Huddinge, Sweden.|School of Technology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Novum, 14183, Huddinge, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hebert
mesh_terms: D019281:Dimerization; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000502:physiology*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D015221:Potassium Channels
keywords: Conductivity; Gating; RCK; Selectivity; Sensor domain