Artificial modulation of the gating behavior of a K+ channel in a KvAP-DNA chimera.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 21526187.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0018598 and PMC identifier 3079724.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
We present experiments where the gating behavior of a voltage-gated ion channel is modulated by artificial ligand binding. We construct a channel-DNA chimera with the KvAP potassium channel reconstituted in an artificial membrane. The channel is functional and the single channel ion conductivity unperturbed by the presence of the DNA. However, the channel opening probability vs. bias voltage, i.e., the gating, can be shifted considerably by the electrostatic force between the charges on the DNA and the voltage sensing domain of the protein. Different hybridization states of the chimera DNA thus lead to different response curves of the channel.
Medical subject headings
- DNA
- Ion Channel Gating
- Membranes, Artificial
- Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated