Structural basis for gating charge movement in the voltage sensor of a sodium channel.

ABSTRACT: Voltage-dependent gating of ion channels is essential for electrical signaling in excitable cells, but the structural basis for voltage sensor function is unknown. We constructed high-resolution structural models of resting, intermediate, and activated states of the voltage-sensing domain of the bacterial sodium channel NaChBac using the Rosetta modeling method, crystal structures of related channels, and experimental data showing state-dependent interactions between the gating charge-carrying arginines in the S4 segment and negatively charged residues in neighboring transmembrane segments. The resulting structural models illustrate a network of ionic and hydrogen-bonding interactions that are made sequentially by the gating charges as they move out under the influence of the electric fiel

SUBMITTER: Yarov-Yarovoy V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3258622 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature