Connection between oligomeric state and gating characteristics of mechanosensitive ion channels.

ABSTRACT: The mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) is capable of transducing mechanical stimuli such as membrane tension into an electrochemical response. MscL provides a widely-studied model system for mechanotransduction and, more generally, for how bilayer mechanical properties regulate protein conformational changes. Much effort has been expended on the detailed experimental characterization of the molecular structure and biological function of MscL. However, despite its central significance, even basic issues such as the physiologically relevant oligomeric states and molecular structures of MscL remain a matter of debate. In particular, tetrameric, pentameric, and hexameric oligomeric states of MscL have been proposed, together with a range of detailed molecular structures of Ms

SUBMITTER: Haselwandter CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3656111 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature