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Nature 457, 111-114 (5 November 2008) | doi:10.1038/nature07462;

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X-ray structure of a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel in an apparently open conformation

Pentameric ligand-gated ion channels from the Cys-loop family mediate fast chemo-electrical transduction, but the mechanisms of ion permeation and gating of these membrane proteins remain elusive. Here we present the X-ray structure at 2.9|[thinsp]||[Aring]| resolution of the bacterial Gloeobacter violaceus pentameric ligand-gated ion channel homologue (GLIC) at pH 4.6 in an apparently open conformation.

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