Anisotropy, the property of being directionally dependent, is ubiquitous in nature.
Propagation of the electrical impulse in cardiac tissue is anisotropic, a property that is …

The negative impact of soil salinity on agricultural yields is significant. For agricultural plants,
sensitivity to salinity is commonly (but not exclusively) due to the abundance of Na+ in the …

Na+ uptake by plant roots has largely been explored using species that accumulate little
Na+ into their shoots. By way of contrast, the halophyte Suaeda maritima accumulates …

K+ channels are highly selective for K+ over Na+. Here we present several crystal structures
of the MthK K+ channel pore at up to 1.45-Å resolution. The MthK selectivity filter maintains a …

The effect of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II) on voltage-gated ion
channels is widely studied through the use of specific CaMK II blockers such as 2-[N-(2 …

This study addresses the energetic coupling between the activation and slow inactivation
gates of Shaker potassium channels. To track the status of the activation gate in inactivated …

Potassium channels are integral membrane proteins that selectively transport K/sup+/across
the cell membrane. They are present in all mammalian cells and have a wide variety of roles …

The inactivation gating of hERG channels is important for the channel function and drug–
channel interaction. Whereas hERG channels are highly selective for K+, we have found that …

Lowering external pH reduces peak current and enhances current decay in Kv and Shaker-
IR channels. Using voltage-clamp fluorimetry we directly determined the fate of Shaker-IR …

Crystal structures of potassium (K+) channels reveal that the selectivity filter, the narrow
portion of the pore, is only∼ 3-Å wide and buttressed from behind, so that its ability to …