Institute of
bioorganic chemistry

Potassium channels are one of the major players in the transduction of the nerve impulse, and mutations in their genes lead to neurological and cardiovascular diseases. The most important feature of K⁺-channels is their highest selectivity for K⁺ over Na⁺ and other cations. In the new work, members of the Group of in silico Analysis of Membrane Proteins Structure and the Laboratory of Molecular Instruments for Neurobiology analyzed all known 3D-structures of membrane proteins. As a result, the key principle of K⁺-channel selectivity filter architecture was confirmed: within it, oxygen atoms of the protein backbone are arranged in a chain of square antiprisms, replicating exactly the solvation geometry of the potassium ion. Distortion of the filter, for example during inactivation, is detected by the algorithm developed by the authors, which can be used for structural classification. Learn more