Related papers: On the selectivity of KcsA potassium channel: asym…
The KcsA potassium channel belongs to a class of K+ channels that is selective for K+ over Na+ at rates of K+ transport approaching the diffusion limit. This selectivity is explained thermodynamically in terms of favorable partitioning of…
In this paper, we study the selectivity of the potassium channel KcsA by a recently developed image-charge solvation method(ICSM) combined with molecular dynamics simulations. The hybrid solvation model in the ICSM is able to demonstrate…
Potassium (K-) channels catalyze K+ ion permeation across cellular membranes while simultaneously discriminating their permeation over Na+ ions by more than a factor of a thousand. Structural studies show bare K+ ions occupying the…
Potassium channels play critical roles in many physiological processes, providing a selective permeation route for K+ ions in and out of a cell, by employing a carefully designed selectivity filter, evolutionarily conserved from viruses to…
The S$_2$ site of the KcsA K$^+$ channel has eight carbonyl ligands in the ion-binding site. A recent study suggests that the K$^+$-over-Na$^+$ selectivity of the S$_2$ site can be understood by noting the larger free energy change involved…
In this work, we present a quantum transport model for the selectivity filter in the KcsA potassium ion channel. This model is fully consistent with the fact that two conduction pathways are involved in the translocation of ions thorough…
Ion channels are specific proteins present in the membranes of living cells. They control the flow of specific ions through a cell, initiated by an ion channel's electrochemical gradient. In doing so, they control important physiological…
We introduce a self-consistent multi-species kinetic theory based on the structure of the narrow voltage-gated potassium channel. Transition rates depend on a complete energy spectrum with contributions including the dehydration amongst…
Assuming that the selectivity filter of KcsA potassium ion channel may exhibit quantum coherence, we extend a previous model by Vaziri and Plenio (2010) to take into account Coulomb repulsion between potassium ions. We show that typical ion…
We study the effect of intracellular ion diffusion on ionic currents permeating through the cell membrane. Ion flux across the cell membrane is mediated by special proteins forming specific channels. The structure of potassium channels have…
Ion channels form pores across the lipid bilayer, selectively allowing inorganic ions to cross the membrane down their electrochemical gradient. While the study of ion desolvation free-energies have attracted much attention, the role of…
Potassium ion channels are critical components of biology. They conduct potassium ions across the cell membrane with remarkable speed and selectivity. Understanding how they do this is crucially important for applications in neuroscience,…
Ion channels are membrane proteins responsible for an enormous range of biological functions. Ion selectivity and permeation are based on simple laws of physics and chemistry. Ion channels are therefore ideal candidates for physical…
We use Brownian dynamics simulations to study the permeation properties of a generic electrostatic model of a biological ion channel as a function of the fixed charge $Q_f$ at its selectivity filter. We reconcile the recently-discovered…
Recently, it has been suggested that ion channel selectivity filter may exhibit quantum coherence, which may be appropriate to explain ion selection and conduction processes. Potassium channels play a vital role in many physiological…
We present an equilibrium statistical-mechanical theory of selectivity in biological ion channels. In doing so, we introduce a grand canonical ensemble for ions in a channel's selectivity filter coupled to internal and external bath…
Despite a large body of work, the exact molecular details underlying ion-selectivity and transport in the potassium channel have not been fully laid to rest. One major reason has been the lack of experimental methods that can probe these…
The study of selection and gating in potassium channels is a very important issue in modern biology. Indeed such structures are known in all types of cells in all organisms where they play many important functional roles. The mechanism of…
The Hurst effect in the signals describing ion channels' activity has been known for many years. This effect is present in the experimental recordings of single-channel currents, but not only. The sequences of dwell times of functionally…
We investigate the possible influence of poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the lipid bilayer of cell membranes on the conduction properties of the selectivity filter of voltage gated ion channels. Any change of this conductivity can…