Dynamic role of the tether helix in PIP₂-dependent gating of a G protein-gated potassium channel.

ABSTRACT: G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels control neuronal excitability in the brain and are implicated in several different neurological diseases. The anionic phospholipid phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate (PIP₂) is an essential cofactor for GIRK channel gating, but the precise mechanism by which PIP₂ opens GIRK channels remains poorly understood. Previous structural studies have revealed several highly conserved, positively charged residues in the "tether helix" (C-linker) that interact with the negatively charged PIP₂ However, these crystal structures of neuronal GIRK channels in complex with PIP₂ provide only snapshots of PIP₂'s interaction with the channel and thus lack details about the gating transitions

SUBMITTER: Lacin E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5560777 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature