Molecular Anatomy and Molecular Design of Channel Proteins. (Reannouncement withNew Availability Information)

摘要

A central goal in membrane biology is to understand how channel proteins work interms of their underlying protein structures. Ionic channels are symmetric (or pseudosymmetric) transmembrane protein assemblies organized around a central aqueous pore. The two key functional elements are the ionic channel, the actual polar pathway that permits the selective passage of 10' ions per second across the apolar core of the membrane lipid bilayer, and the sensor, the structure that detects the stimulus and couples it to the opening or closing (gating) of the channel.