Lysine and the Na+/K+ Selectivity in Mammalian Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels.

ABSTRACT: Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels are critical in the generation and transmission of neuronal signals in mammals. The crystal structures of several prokaryotic Nav channels determined in recent years inspire the mechanistic studies on their selection upon the permeable cations (especially between Na+ and K+ ions), a property that is proposed to be mainly determined by residues in the selectivity filter. However, the mechanism of cation selection in mammalian Nav channels lacks direct explanation at atomic level due to the difference in amino acid sequences between mammalian and prokaryotic Nav homologues, especially at the constriction site where the DEKA motif has been identified to determine the Na+/K+ selectivity in mammalian Nav channels but is completely absent in the prokaryotic co

SUBMITTER: Li Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5008630 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature