Ion channels are membrane proteins that mediate efficient ion transport across the
hydrophobic core of cell membranes, an unlikely process in their absence. K+ channels …

Polyamines, which are obligatory molecules involved in cell cycling and proliferation, are
subject to a change in their free intracellular concentrations during the cell cycle. Potassium …

The mechanism underlying perinuclear calcium spiking induced during legume root
endosymbioses is largely unknown. Lotus japonicus symbiosis-defective castor and pollux …

We suggest that bubbles are the bistable hydrophobic gates responsible for the on-off
transitions of single channel currents. In this view, many types of channels gate by the same …

Activity of KCNQ (Kv7) channels requires binding of phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate
(PIP2) from the plasma membrane. We give evidence that Mg2+ and polyamines weaken …

Rapid chloride permeation through the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator
(CFTR) Cl− channel is dependent on the presence of fixed positive charges in the …

High-conductance Ca2+-and voltage-activated K+ (Slo1 or BK) channels (KCNMA1) play
key roles in many physiological processes. The structure of the Slo1 channel has two …

Stretch sensitivity of Ca2+-activated large-conductance K+ channels (BKCa) has been
observed in a variety of cell types and considered to be a potential mechanism in …

In MthK, a Ca2+-gated K+ channel from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, eight
cytoplasmic RCK domains form an octameric gating ring that controls the intracellular gate of …

The internal vestibule of large-conductance Ca2+ voltage-activated K+ (BK) channels
contains a ring of eight negative charges not present in K+ channels of lower conductance …