Locations of the beta1 transmembrane helices in the BK potassium channel.

ABSTRACT: BK channels are composed of alpha-subunits, which form a voltage- and Ca(2+)-gated potassium channel, and of modulatory beta-subunits. The beta1-subunit is expressed in smooth muscle, where it renders the BK channel sensitive to [Ca(2+)](i) in a voltage range near the smooth-muscle resting potential and slows activation and deactivation. BK channel acts thereby as a damped feedback regulator of voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channels and of smooth muscle tone. We explored the contacts between alpha and beta1 by determining the extent of endogenous disulfide bond formation between cysteines substituted just extracellular to the two beta1 transmembrane (TM) helices, TM1 and TM2, and to the seven alpha TM helices, consisting of S1-S6, conserved in all voltage-dependent potassium channels, and the u

SUBMITTER: Liu G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2504814 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature