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Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 15, 1130 - 1132 (2008)
doi:10.1038/nsmb1108-1130



There is a Corrigendum (May 2009) associated with this News and Views.

Integration of an electric-metal sensory experience in the Slo1 BK channel

Frank T Horrigan1 & Toshinori Hoshi2

  1. Frank T. Horrigan is in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, MS:BCM335, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
    e-mail: horrigan@bcm.tmc.edu
  2. Toshinori Hoshi is in the Department of Physiology, 3700 Hamilton Walk, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
    e-mail: hoshi@hoshi.org


The open gate of the BK-type K+ channel is stabilized when the voltage-sensor domains (VSDs) are activated by depolarization and the intracellular Mg2+ sensors are occupied. A systematic investigation reveals that each Mg2+ is bound by the transmembrane VSD and cytoplasmic ligand-sensing domain from two adjacent subunits, suggesting that relative positions of sensor and gate domains of BK channels may differ substantially from those suggested by homology models.

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