Constitutive sodium permeability in a <i>C. elegans</i> two-pore domain potassium channel.

ABSTRACT: Two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channels play a central role in modulating cellular excitability and neuronal function. The unique structure of the selectivity filter in K2P and other potassium channels determines their ability to allow the selective passage of potassium ions across cell membranes. The nematode C. elegans has one of the largest K2P families, with 47 subunit-coding genes. This remarkable expansion has been accompanied by the evolution of atypical selectivity filter sequences that diverge from the canonical TxGYG motif. Whether and how this sequence variation may impact the function of K2P channels has not been investigated so far. Here, we show that the UNC-58 K2P channel is constitutively permeable to sodium ions and that a cysteine residue in its selectivity filter

SUBMITTER: Andrini O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11513965 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature