An α-π transition in S6 shapes the conformational cycle of the bacterial sodium channel NavAb.

ABSTRACT: Voltage-gated sodium channels play an important role in electrical signaling in excitable cells. In response to changes in membrane potential, they cycle between nonconducting and conducting conformations. With recent advances in structural biology, structures of sodium channels have been captured in several distinct conformations, which are thought to represent different functional states. However, it has been difficult to capture the intrinsically transient open state. We recently showed that a proposed open state of the bacterial sodium channel NavMs was not conductive and that a conformational change involving a transition to a π-helix in the pore-lining S6 helix converted this structure into a conducting state. However, the relevance of this structural feature in other sodium channels

SUBMITTER: Choudhury K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9754703 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature