Identifying the elusive link between amino acid sequence and charge selectivity in pentameric ligand-gated ion channels.

ABSTRACT: Among neurotransmitter-gated ion channels, the superfamily of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) is unique in that its members display opposite permeant-ion charge selectivities despite sharing the same structural fold. Although much effort has been devoted to the identification of the mechanism underlying the cation-versus-anion selectivity of these channels, a careful analysis of past work reveals that discrepancies exist, that different explanations for the same phenomenon have often been put forth, and that no consensus view has yet been reached. To elucidate the molecular basis of charge selectivity for the superfamily as a whole, we performed extensive mutagenesis and electrophysiological recordings on six different cation-selective and anion-selective homologs from verteb

SUBMITTER: Cymes GD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5111664 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature